Skip Beat! Friday
by Anwedragon
Summary: When Kyoko brings a surprise to show Ren, an innocent wish has the reluctant couple seeing things from each other's point of view…
1. Chapter 1

Thanks to everyone that has followed this story. I got out of writing for a while, but have recently been in a wreck that has me down so I thought I would revisit and clean up some of my old stories while I couldn't do anything else. I hope you enjoy the corrected version.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

"Tsuruga-san, I've got something to show you!" Kyoko said as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Ren sighed, no matter how many times he had asked, Kyoko still insisted on addressing him formally. He was happy she'd shown up at his apartment so unexpectedly, but he could not understand what had her so ecstatic. What was all of this nonsense about fairies and paths? None of it made any sense to him. He was tired from the long day of filming, but he always loved listening to her talk, even when she rambled.

"What is it Mogami-san?" He asked the excited girl. Kyoko led the way into the living room and sat on the floor next to the glass table. She was sure the actor would need to sit down after her surprise. Ren folded himself up and joined her on the floor.

"Look!" She held her cupped hands out for Ren to see. Opening them gently, Kyoko held her hands up showing the contents. "Isn't she beautiful!" She sighed. Ren looked into the palm of her hands and saw nothing. He peered at the rapture on Kyoko's face as she stared at the unseen object. "I found her along the path that cuts through the park. A cat was batting her around, but I chased it off. She had hurt her wing so I brought her home and fixed it up with a little tape." The young actress smiled up at her confused senpai. "What do you think?" Ren raised his brow in confusion. He knew that Kyoko believed in fanciful things, but he was starting to worry about the young woman's sanity.

"I don't see anything." He admitted to the actress. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" Kyoko's smiled slipped as she realized that Ren could not see her surprise.

"It's a fairy." Kyoko said quietly, she was saddened that she couldn't share her discovery with him. Ren smiled at the girl and her imagination. He shook his head and sighed again.

"I wish I could see the world through your eyes."

The little fairy cradled in Kyoko's hands looked up at the tall man. She was sadden that his heart was not pure enough to see her, but she had a great idea. She should grant the man his wish. Kyoko gasped as the little fairy launched from her hand and alighted on Ren's shoulder. Ren looked up at the noise from Kyoko. He felt a soft tickle on his face as the four inch tall fairy placed both hands on his cheek and kissed him lightly.

"Ren!" Kyoko cried as the actors eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out. The fairy sprang from his shoulder as Kyoko rushed forward to catch him before he could fall into the coffee table. As soon as she took his weight and headed his mass in a safe direction, the fairy's spell caught her and she slipped into unconsciousness with her arms wrapped around the tall actor. The fairy landed on the coffee table smiling. She was proud of the work she had done in her injured condition. She was sure her savior would be happy with her. She would help the man to see what he could not. Figuring that her weakened condition would make the magic work slower, the fairy looked around for a place to rest till the spell completed itself. Spotting a nice potted plant with broad leaves by the window, she carefully fluttered over and tied two leaves together so they formed a hammock. Climbing in, she peered out at the actors sleeping together on the floor before curling up to recover from her long day.

"Ren, it's almost time to go." Yashiro called into the apartment as he let himself in. Turning the corner into the kitchen, he didn't notice the two actors asleep on the living room floor. Yashiro was surprised to find Ren was not waiting for him like normal. The actor hadn't even started the coffee that was his usual breakfast. The manager filled the pot and pushed the brew button before going to find out why his charge was not up. "Ren, if we don't get moving, you're going to be late." There was still plenty of time even if Ren was still in bed, but this threat usually got a response from the perpetually punctual man. Yashiro's footsteps started him toward Ren's bedroom, but he stopped when he saw the two actors curled together on the floor. He quickly turned his head back to where he had left his shoes and wondered how he could have missed the young actress' tennis shoes in the entry way. He let out a light squee, but covered his mouth quickly so he wouldn't wake the cute couple cuddled on the floor. Slipping into a pair of protective gloves, he snapped a few pictures of Kyoko holding Ren with his phone. As he got closer, he took several more pictures from different angles. His movement disturbed Ren's sleep and the actor sat up and looked at the giddy man oddly.

"What are you doing, Yashiro?" Ren asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. His head pounded and he didn't feel so well. Yashiro's fan girl mode stopped as he stared at the young girl talking to him. Kyoko was always very polite, and it bothered him that she had left the honorific off his name. Not because he minded that she was friendlier towards him, he welcomed that, it was just unlike her.

"I'm here to make sure Ren is ready for his day." The concerned manager answered. Ren nodded his understanding, last night was very fuzzy. He could not remember why he was on the living room floor. He couldn't remember if he had anything to drink, but it felt like he had a massive hangover.

"Sorry." Ren apologized. "I'm up now. Just give me a few minutes to get ready." Trying to stand, he found his balance was way off and he started to fall. Yashiro quickly stepped up and caught Kyoko as she toppled over.

"Whoa there Kyoko-chan, are you alright?" He held the girl as she clung to him. Ren looked at the man holding him up; he didn't remember Yashiro being so tall. He tried to look around to see the girl he was talking to, but his stomach chose that moment to get really upset. Ren dropped his head to Yashiro's chest and leaned on his manager.

"I'm going to be sick." He mumbled. To his surprise Yashiro scooped him up and quickly deposited him in the bathroom. Ren's mind reeled on how this delicate looking man had managed that feat, but his churning stomach drove the surprise out of his mind for the moment. Yashiro rubbed Kyoko's back as she retched several times before sitting back. Ren hung his head into his hands and rubbed the ache in his temples. He was sure that he had not drunk enough to make himself this sick. He looked up and took the cup of water and the damp towel Yashiro handed down to him.

"Are you ok, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro asked the sickened girl on the floor. Ren looked around for Kyoko. He vaguely remembered that she had stopped by last night with a surprise. Yashiro looked down at the dazed girl looking around and squatted to see if she had a fever. "Maybe I should call a doctor." He placed his hand on the sluggish girl's head. Ren pushed Yashiro's hand away.

"I'm fine." Ren pulled himself up by the counter. "I just had a hard night. A hot shower should put me right." Yashiro looked on in concern for the girl. She was definitely not acting right. Ren looked in the mirror and nearly fell over as he whipped around to find out why Kyoko was standing behind him. Her reflection was there, but he did not see her anywhere. Yashiro grabbed the unstable girl as she turned too quickly and nearly fell over.

"Careful, Kyoko-chan." He warned as he helped to right her. Ren stared at Yashiro for a moment confused then turned back to the mirror. A pair of golden eyes stared back at him. He reached up and touched his face while the reflection of Kyoko mimicked this movement. He moved his hands lower to his chest and blushed at what he found there. That was definitely not his chest! He thought about checking other things, but decided that would not help and turned his attention to the concerned man watching him.

"You are going to need to call my first filming and tell them I can't make it." Ren told Yashiro as his predicament sunk in. Yashiro looked strangely at the odd request from the young actress.

"Alright, but where are you supposed to be this morning?" He pulled out his phone and prepared to call Kyoko's first location. Ren shook his head.

"I mean, you're going to have to call Ren's first job and tell them that HE can't make it." Yashiro stared dumbfounded at this request.

"I can't do that, Ren will be very upset." Yashiro didn't want to face the wrath of the tall actor.

"No I… I mean, HE will not." Ren fumbled past the worried man. "Just do it Yashiro!" This shocked the manager into making the call as Ren stumbled his way to the living room to look down on his body lying on the floor. His eyes caught a hint of an iridescent flash from the coffee table, and his eyes focused on the little fairy sitting there. She smiled at him proud of the job she had done. Suddenly the night before came flooding back to him and he groaned as he remembered the wish he had made.

Yashiro came out of the bathroom after canceling Ren's first appointment. He had told the director the actor was sick and apologized to him several times. He was sure Ren was going to be very upset about this, but Kyoko had been so demanding. He was kind of afraid to go against her. Yashiro watched from the door way as the girl went over to his sleeping charge and sat on the floor next to him. He was sure he needed to call a doctor when she started to talk to the table.

"So, Kyoko was telling the truth." Ren said slowly looking at the little fairy swinging her legs over the edge of the table. The fairy nodded. "You can understand me?" He asked and she nodded her head again. "What's your name?" he asked. The little girl opened her mouth and moved it, but only a soft chiming reached his ears. Ren shook his head and the fairy shrugged. "You granted my wish, didn't you?" The fairy sat up proudly and fluttered her tiny wings. The smile that graced her face spoke more than words could say. He smiled back at her. How he could not be mad at her for doing exactly as he had wished, even though it was not in the way he expected? "Can you change us back?" She nodded again. "Can you do it now?" He asked gently, he didn't want to appear ungrateful to the little creature. She looked a little concerned at the request. The fairy fluttered her wings slower and thought about the question. The initial spell had taken most of her magic and she was unsure if she had enough left in her to change them back immediately. Ren saw her shrug. "Will you try?" He coaxed and the little girl nodded. She fluttered to his shoulder and kissed his cheek again. As her soft lips tickled his cheek, he realized that this was the same feeling he had felt last night. After a moment she plopped down on his shoulder exhausted. Unfortunately, the fairy didn't have enough magic to complete the spell she tried to cast. Ren reached his hand up so she could crawl her way over to his palm. He pulled the little creature down so he could see her again. Her wings wilted slightly in disappointment at her inability to complete the request. She looked up at him with apologetic eyes. Ren smiled at her, he remembered the words of his love from the night before. "It's ok, I'm sure you're not feeling well after that cat attack." The fairy nodded and waved one of her wings. Ren could see the small strips of clear tape where Kyoko had done a wonderful job repairing the tear. "Will we ever change back?" He asked the little creature. She perked up and nodded happily. She had cast the spell properly, so as soon as her magic was stronger it would take effect. "When?" He asked. She thought for a moment and held up three fingers then wiggled her hand back and forth. "Three, give or take?" he guessed and she nodded. "Hours?" he said but she shook her head. "Days?" He guessed again and she sat up a little straighter and nodded happily again. Ren sat there with his mouth open. He was going to be stuck in Kyoko's body for three days. And worse, she was going to be stuck in his!

**Authors Note: **For those reading this for the first time: I am not pulling down the uncorrected portions of this story. I will be replacing them as I get them corrected. I will try to get one up every day. I will note in the comments that the chapter has been corrected and updated. Sorry for any confusion or inconvenience this may cause. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for returning. This is Chapter 2 corrected. Please enjoy.

The use of 'he' and 'she' in this story is a little odd. To anyone in the story that knows what is going on Ren(in Kyoko's body) is referred to in male form and Kyoko( in Ren's body) is referred to in female form, that is how they view themselves no matter what physical form they take. To anyone that does not know, they still think about the person according to what they see. I have worked to make it as clear as possible on who the story is talking about, but if there is any confusion, please let me know so that I can correct it. Thank you.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Yashiro watched in concern as Kyoko held a one-sided conversation with the table and her open hand. Unsure about what to do for the confused girl, he came over to check on his unmoving charge. As he reached to wake Ren, Kyoko grabbed his wrist and stopped him before he could touch the sleeping actor.

"Not yet." Ren held his manager's hand back from Kyoko in his body. "Tell me what you see." He held out the fairy. Yashiro looked at Kyoko's outstretched hand confused by her actions.

"Umm….Your hand." He answered with a raised eyebrow. The fairy shook her head sadly at the older man unable to see her. Ren shifted as he thought about the problem.

"Try it without your glasses." Ren asked. Yashiro took off his glasses to humor the young woman and looked again.

"It's still just your hand, only fuzzier." He sighed. Ren tried to recall the many myths he had heard about fairies.

"Try looking out of the corner of your eye." He pleaded with his manager. Yashiro shook his head and started to replace his glasses. "PLEASE!" Ren begged in Kyoko's cutest voice. Yashiro sighed deeply unsure what she was playing at, but he couldn't refuse when she spoke like that. He turned his head so he could see her hand with just the corner of his eye. Gasping, he turned back to see the fairy waving at him from the girl's palm. Once the magic that keeps fairies hidden had been broken, it was not hard to see the little creature clearly.

"What is that Kyoko-chan!" Yashiro leaned close to the little creature. She blushed at the intense inspection.

"It's a fairy." Now that Yashiro could see the creature, he would be more likely to accept what Ren was about to tell him. "I am not Kyoko, I'm Ren." Yashiro sat up and looked at the girl holding the fairy in surprise. He looked down at the sleeping actor and back to Kyoko holding the fairy.

"Quit pulling my leg." Yashiro shifted back in disbelief. Ren had hoped that seeing the fairy would help Yashiro to believe him. Yashiro looked in disbelief at the little fairy nodding her head. After a moment considering the pair, he turned to Ren. "If you really are Ren, tell me something that Kyoko does not know." Ren sighed and thought of the one thing Yashiro knew that Kyoko had not yet accepted.

"I love her with all my heart and would do anything for her." Ren did not need to explain this to Yashiro as his eyes grew in surprise. Ren thought of one more thing that Kyoko didn't know that would cinch Yashiro's disbelief. "You also have a large collection of anime ranging from..."

"OK." Yashiro cut him off before the actor could reveal how much of an otaku he really was. "I believe you, but how…?" The manager waved at the body Ren currently occupied and the sleeping form he was supposed to be in. Ren looked to the little fairy resting in his palm and sighed. She had curl up for a nap. Ren lowered his hand to relieve the fatigue pains from holding it up for so long.

"Kyoko came over last night to show me a surprise." Ren looked down at his cupped hand.

"The fairy." Yashiro stated as he started to put it together. Ren nodded.

"I couldn't see her, so I thought Kyoko was just fooling around." He blushed as he admitted his assumption. "I said something absentmindedly." Ren looked down to where Kyoko was sleeping. Yashiro considered them for a moment.

"What did you say?" Yashiro asked. He couldn't think of any comment that would give the fairy the idea to switch the actors' bodies.

"I wished I could see things through Kyoko's eyes." Ren sighed looking down at his new body. Yashiro snickered a little trying to hold it in, but Ren's serious look coming from Kyoko's eyes set him laughing out right. Ren stood up in a huff as his manager rolled on the floor in tears of laughter. Ren went to find a pillow to place the small fairy on so he could get Kyoko up. He was unsure if she had anything scheduled today and it might take a while to explain what happened. If she felt anything like he had when he woke up, then he would need both hands for this.

By the time Ren came back, Yashiro was laying on the floor wiping the tears from his eyes. The laughter had died down to little chuckles every now and them. Ren stood over his manager and looked down at the stupid grin on the man's face.

"Better?" Ren asked with his normal serious expression. This sent Yashiro into another fit of giggles. The withering glare Ren shot him only made the giggles harder, but after a few more minutes and some deep breaths the manager pulled himself together and sat up.

"Better." He informed Ren. The two friends looked down at Kyoko still sleeping on the floor. Yashiro snickered again but swallowed the mirth to face the real problem.

"I think it would be best if you wake her up." Ren suggested to Yashiro. "If she's as disoriented as I was, she might take it better if she didn't see me yet." Yashiro agreed as Ren went to stand behind the couch. He could watch from there, but would be out of Kyoko's direct line of sight. Yashiro knelt next to the sleeping form on the floor and tapped its shoulder gently.

"Kyoko-chan, it's time to wake up." Ren watched as his body moved and groaned.

"Oh my head." Kyoko raised her hand to stop the pain bounding behind her eyes. As she started to sit up, Yashiro reached out to stabilize her.

"Carefully now." He warned as he helped Kyoko to sit up awkwardly. Yashiro coaxed her into stretching her legs out and leaning back against the couch. She tilted her head back so it was pillowed on the couch with her eyes closed. Ren shook his head; he knew exactly what the girl was going through.

"I don't feel so good." Ren grabbed up the wastebasket from the corner and passed it to Yashiro just before Kyoko threw up. He got her a glass of water and a damp towel and set them on the table where Yashiro could reach them when his hands were free again. At the moment, the manager was supporting Kyoko so she didn't knock over the can as her stomach convulsed.

"There, there." Yashiro patted her on the back before lifting the water to her lips. She took a sip and opened her eyes for the first time. Yashiro helped her lean back against the couch again so she could recovered.

"Yashiro-san." She started to speak, but stopped. She cleared her throat before starting again.  
She wasn't sure what was wrong, but her voice sounded off. "What happened?" She raised her hand to her head to rub at the pounding in her temple.

"Just relax, Kyoko-chan. Everything will be fine." Yashiro soothed her. "What do you remember from yesterday?" Kyoko closed her eyes again and tried to think through the fuzziness filling the space where her memories should have been.

"I found a fairy injured in the park." She pressed her mind for information. "I brought it over for Tsuruga-san to see, but he couldn't." Kyoko stirred more of her memories. "The fairy kissed his cheek and he passed out. REN!" When the memory of his faint hit her she flailed looking for the fallen man. With calming sounds, Yashiro placed his hands on her shoulders to push her back against the couch gently.

"Ren is fine, you're both fine, just calm down." Yashiro soothed her. "There has been a misunderstanding and things have happened." Yashiro explained vaguely. "But everything will be fine." Kyoko looked at him with concern not understanding what was going on.

"Where is Tsuruga-san?" She asked cautiously. She raised her hand to her throat again. Her voice sounded oddly familiar, but it didn't sound like her. Her fingers touched the cord of a necklace that she could not remember putting on. Pulling it out to look at it, she recognized the charm that Ren often wore. She stared at it puzzled for a moment before noticing the hands that held it. Pushing her hands out if front of her, she looked at the familiar hands that had no business being at the ends of her arms. She started trembling as she looked down at the body she now possessed. By the time she registered the feet and legs, she had wrapped her now long arms around her torso. She was visibly shaking as she lifted her fingers to her face to feel the familiar features of her beloved senpai. Running her hands up through her hair, she looked up at Yashiro kneeling in front of her. The look in her now brown eyes was sheer terror as she spoke. "Where's Tsuruga-san?" She asked again. Her voice trembled on the edge of panic.

"I'm here." Ren answered and stepped around the corner of the couch so she could see him. Kyoko looked up at Ren standing there in her body and screamed as hysteria took over. Yashiro did the first thing he could think of and slapped her soundly across the face. The physical impact seemed to stop her for the moment, but she was still shocked beyond speech.

"You hit me!" Ren cried indignantly as he dropped to the frightened girl's side to look at the cheek Yashiro had struck. "Well her, but it's still me."

"What was I supposed to do, let her wake the entire neighborhood?" Yashiro defended his action. Kyoko listened to the two 'men' talk.

"The walls are sound proof here." Ren protested as he picked up the cool towel he had brought to the manager and pressed it to the red, hand-sized welt forming on her cheek.

"Couldn't you think of something else?" As Ren griped at his manager, Kyoko studied the face of the person tending her with amazement. She recognized the auburn hair and golden eyes set in the face she saw every time she looked in the mirror. To have it in front of her and not behind glass was disturbing. Bewildered, she reached her hand out and touched the image of herself moving before her. Ren paused in his argument with Yashiro as her fingers caressed his skin.

"Ren?" She questioned softly, not quiet believing what was happening. Ren smiled softly at her.

"Yes Kyoko, it's me." He closed his eyes and let her touch his face and hair. He loved her soft caresses. He opened his eyes up when she spoke again.

"But… how?" She stammered. Ren was about to answer her question when it hit her. "THE FAIRY!" She nearly yelled the answer as she snapped upright. Ren jerked back in surprise at the sudden movement.

"She granted the wish I made." A strange smile curled Ren's lips as he explained. Kyoko tilted her head and gave him a questioning look.

"Wish?" She asked, she could not remember him asking for anything.

"Yes, I wished that I could see the world through your eyes, and she took it literally." Ren sighed shaking the amusement from his face. Yashiro had moved back to give Ren space and tried his best to not laugh at his friends' plight. He held most of it in, but little snickers were escaping at how cute Ren's body looked with Kyoko's innocent and sincere expressions on his face. He decided he was going to invest in a video camera so he could record the next few days for later enjoyment.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all for joining me in Chapter 3 I hope you all have enjoyed the ride so far…. I can promise more fun along the way.

Close, WitchMagicCat, the idea for this kind of came from Freaky Friday, hence the name, but it was put into my head when I heard that an episode of Eurika was going to have the main characters switching bodies. The reason and way the bodies were switched are very different. But in both of those places the characters never crossed genders so I thought… hummm… what would happen if we took poor innocent Kyoko and dropped her into a guy's body, and Ren would be the most fun to do it to… so chaos ensues!

**** WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MILDLY SUGGESTIVE THEAMS******

(but nothing that could not be seen on primetime TV)

Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Now that Kyoko was calming down, Ren stood up and offered his hand down to her. She took it and tried to stand as normal, but her balance was off, and she fell into his much shorter frame.

"Easy there." He warned her. "Just move slowly until you get used to it." Ren pushed Kyoko up and she placed a hand on his shoulder for balance. They walked around the living room until Kyoko was more comfortable with her new form and could stand and walk easily by herself. Yashiro sat leaning against the wall and watched with a smile like a bird-fed cat. He kept thinking about all the possibilities awaiting the couple. If this did not advance their relationship, then nothing would! Kyoko stopped in the progress and looked down at Ren, something had just occurred to her.

"What time are you supposed to be at work today?" She asked her senpai.

"I had Yashiro cancel my morning." He informed her. The look of fright that crossed Kyoko's face sent a new wave of snickers through Yashiro from where he watched the pair. He did not know Ren's body could make that face. Kyoko started to drop into a dogeze to apologize for making him miss work. Ren was quick enough to catch the girl as she was going down, but he had forgotten for a moment that she was now much larger then he was and the two ended up on the floor together.

"I'm so sorry." Kyoko wailed, apologizing for both knocking her senpai down and for making him miss work. Yashiro couldn't restrain himself anymore and fell over laughing at the sight of Ren begging Kyoko for forgiveness.

"You aren't helping." Ren yelled over to his manager, but this only served to make the man laugh harder. He turned his attention back to the girl near tears in front of him. "If anyone is to blame, then it should be me. I made the wish." Ren tried to comfort his love. "And I have already talked to the fairy and she promised to change us back as soon as her magic returns." Kyoko nodded her understanding. "Until then, we are just going to have to be each other." Kyoko looked at him concerned.

"How?" She asked not sure if she knew enough about Ren to play him convincingly.

"Well," He started thinking of a good answer. "I think we should go see Lory and see if he can clear our schedules until we change back." Kyoko agreed and got up from the floor.

"You're both going to need showers and breakfast before we go." Yashiro called from where he laid on the floor. Both of the actors blanched at the prospect of washing the body that they were in as the manager rolled around laughing even more.

"You're still not helping." Ren walked past his manager and kicked him on the way to the kitchen. The man laughed harder, he was greatly enjoying the situation. Kyoko walked past him meekly rubbing her hands together and followed Ren in to the kitchen. Ren had poured himself a cup of coffee and was dropping some bread into the toaster. Kyoko looked at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked looking at the meager rations he was fixing.

"Having breakfast." Ren answered blowing on the hot drink in his hand.

"You're not eating just that are you?" Kyoko glared at the black coffee he was holding.

"I was planning on it." He answered as he took his first sips of the bitter liquid. Kyoko came over and took the cup away from him.

"Go shower and I will cook breakfast." She ordered him out to the kitchen forgetting their situation in her anger. Ren blushed and left so Kyoko could cook.

For a change, Kyoko could reach everything in his cabinets with ease. She happily pulled on the apron that Ren had gotten her and pulled a pan down from the shelf. Yashiro came in to sit at the table and watch, the smile he had said that he was still enjoying the situation. When else could he watch Ren dance around the kitchen in an apron? He sipped as his coffee and watch Kyoko prepare food for all of them. He thought about where Ren currently was and his smile turned devious as he watched the girl cooking. He was thinking about all the things that Ren could be doing at that moment.

Ren stood in the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He really wanted a shower, but he was unsure about how to go about it. He was sure that Kyoko would not want him looking at or touching her body in ways that would be necessary for a proper washing, but he could not think of a way around it. Well, other than asking her to come in and wash her body for him. He twitched at the thought of the two of them together in the shower, naked, and wet… He shook his head and decided that would be a bad idea for his self-control. He knew just the ways to make his body respond and was sure that it would be too tempting to tease her in bad ways. He decided that the best thing to do would be to turn off the lights for his shower. That way he would reserve the woman's dignity, yet still be able to get clean.

Ren snapped the lights off before pulling his clothing off and folded them onto the counter. He knew his bathroom fairly well and only stubbed his toes on the edge of the tub a little. He thought it was much closer than it had been. He felt his way around in the shower and tuned on the water. Once it was nice and warm, he slipped into the stream and tried to only touch his skin as much as necessary to get it clean. He found this very hard to do once he was actually started in with the soap. He had wanted to explore the expanse of her skin for a long time, and here he was given the chance to do so without her protesting. He gasped as he ran the rough washcloth across his chest. Her nipples were a LOT more sensitive than his were. He ran the cloth across his chest again and was surprised when the nipples tightened up. He immediately put both of his hands on the wall in front of him and stuck his head into the stream of hot water. He could not believe what he had been doing. He was supposed to be washing Kyoko's body, not fondling it! He quickly reprimanded himself and went back to giving Kyoko's body a quick cleaning.

Ren stood in the running water contemplating what he was going to do. Everything was washed except one particular area that he was sure she would be mad if he touched, but what could he do, personal hygiene was important to woman. He pondered over this for a moment and decided the best thing to do was to take the hand wand down and use that. Then he would not be tempted to touch her any more than necessary. Happy with his decision he felt around for the hose and pulled it lose. The squeal that issued from him when the water hit the sensitive skin made both Kyoko and Yashiro bolt from the kitchen into the bathroom. Kyoko threw open the door onto the darkened room. She turned on the light to see her body sitting on the floor of Ren's shower shaking. Ren stared at the showered head like it had bit him. He knew woman were sensitive down there, but not THAT sensitive. He turned to look at the two people that had supplied him with the light. Yashiro averted his eyes but concern was clear on both of their faces.

"Are you ok?" Kyoko asked as she walked to Ren. She had seen her own body so many times that it did not occur to her that she should be embarrassed. Ren blushed and turned so he would not have to look at her.

"I just fell over in the dark." He lied. Kyoko had reached the shower and was turning off the water that was flooding out into the floor.

"What were you doing showering in the dark?" Kyoko asked as she pulled one of the towels down from the shelf and opened it for the actor. He started to stand up, but his legs were still shaking a little and he stumbled. Kyoko quickly caught him in the towel before he could fall and lifted him to his feet so he stood wrapped in the towel against her. She was surprised at how well her body fit into the tall actor's arms. She wondered if he had ever noticed this and blushed at the thought. She released her senpai to stand on his own and backed up. Ren stood there in a towel blushing bright red. He was trying to come up with a good explanation as to why he was on the floor of the shower in the dark, but he did not want to admit the truth. Yashiro was standing in the door way grinning broadly. He had figured out why Ren was showering in the dark, but he wanted to hear what his excuse was.

"Umm.. Well.." He started out. "I was trying not to look." His blush deepened a little at the surprised look on Kyoko's face. Yashiro laughed again at the awkward couple as they stood in the bathroom together. "You're not helping!" He yelled at his manager again. Truthfully, Yashiro had broken the tension in the room and gave Ren something to be mad about instead of embarrassed. He stormed from the bathroom still wet, but wrapped in a towel and stepped over the man beating his fist into the floor in laughter. They heard the door to Ren's bedroom slam shut. Kyoko stood in the bathroom and thought about what just happened. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth as she realized what she had done. She had sent Ren in to shower in her body. It hurt a little that he had tried to shower in the dark so he would not have to look at her naked body. Obviously he would not want to look at the body of a plain and boring girl when there was someone else that he loved. She sighed sadly and went back to the kitchen to finish her cooking. Hopefully nothing had burned during her trip to bathroom.

**Author's note**: You would be amazed at how hard it has been to keep this from devolving straight into lemons…. Oh the possibilities! But I am doing my best to keep it out of the M rating. I had to rewrite this chapter about four times before I could get it past the sensors. Oh the things Ren wanted to do in the privacy of his shower!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for joining me for Chapter 4, the chaos continues as our unfortunate couple gets ready for their day. Oh and what a day it will be, he he he.

I am sorry that Yashiro seems OOC in the last chapter, but there was really not much he could do besides sit back and watch/laugh. He heard the conversation between Ren and the fairy so he knew they would be ok, and I figured his sanity cracked a little in dealing with the situation… I know mine would. Don't worry, he gets better. And I am sure that Ren is going to find a way to make him PAY for his amusement later. :) * now taking suggestions for punishment for Yashiro*

**** WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MILDLY SUGGESTIVE THEAMS******

(but nothing worse than seen on primetime TV)

Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Ren threw himself down on top of the covers on his bed and tried to sort out his thoughts and feeling. He hoped that Kyoko would understand that he was trying to preserve her modesty and not think he didn't want to see her naked, but he could not explain it to her without either confessing his feelings or sounding like a pervert. Ren ran his hands through his hair roughly and let out an exasperated noise. He could still feel the effects that the water had had on his unfamiliar body. Since he did not know about it, he decided the best course of action was to ignore it and hope that that tight knot in his stomach would do away. He sat up and finished drying off before going to look for something suitable to where. He opened his closet and flipped through his clothing. There was nothing in there that Kyoko's smaller body would not swim in, so he decided to go for one of the t-shirt he used to work out in. He also took out a pair of his running shorts that had a draw string in them.

He stood back and looked at himself in the mirror. He liked the way Kyoko looked in his clothing. He pulled up his shirt and rubbed his hand over the soft skin of his stomach. He loved her skin. He shook his head to clear the perverted thoughts that ran through his mind and dropped the shirt back down. He turned to walk out and stopped as the seam in his shorts rubbed against sensitive skin. He loosened the shorts so they rode lower on him and decided that they were either going shopping or back to the Darumaya to get some proper clothing for him.

When Ren arrived in the kitchen, he found that Kyoko had laid out a proper breakfast and she was sitting with Yashiro already eating. Kyoko was surprised when she got halfway through her meal and found that she was full and could eat no more. She placed her hand on her stomach and looked up at Ren eating on the other side of the table. He had been waiting for her to hit that full point. He swallowed the piece of bread in his mouth so he could speak.

"I told you that I don't need that much to eat." He grinned at her. Kyoko shook her head at him and went to go take her shower. Ren finished everything on his plate with ease and went back for seconds on the soup. He was amazed at how much food Kyoko's body could take comfortable. Ren suddenly thought of something and ran to the bathroom to stop Kyoko from getting in the shower. He did not hear water running so he knocked on the door. "Kyoko-chan." He called. It felt weird using her given name, but he was using her body, so the formal way he usually called her just did not seem right. Kyoko opened the door and looked out at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Ren pushed the door open and let himself into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and locked it.

"There is something that I need to tell you before you get in the shower." Kyoko had already taken her shirt off and was clutching it to her chest out of habit. Ren opened a drawer on his counter and pulled out a case for contacts and the solution that went with it. "I wear contacts." His words were just above a whisper, but she heard them. She stared at him in disbelief before turning to look at her eyes in the mirror, but could not see the contacts. "You'll need to take them out before you shower just in case you get soap in your eyes." Ren opened the case and put some fresh solution in the wells.

"How do I get them out?" She asked. She had never worn contacts. Ren explained it and helped her to get the first one out. She gasped at the blue eye that stared back at her from the mirror. Ren dropped the first contact in its divot and when back to the girl to help her remove the second. Once he had secured both contacts in their case, he turned to his kohai examining his eyes closely in the mirror. "You have such beautify eyes, why do you hide them?" She asked. Ren looked away from her; he was not ready to reveal his secret to her just yet.

"It's a long story." He answered before looking back up to her. "Please don't tell anyone about this." His puppy dog eyes were too adorable coming out of Kyoko's face. Kyoko smiled warmly at him, she could tell that this was important to him.

"I promise." She rested her hand on Ren's shoulder.

"Not even Yashiro." Ren stated. She gave him a confused look but agreed to keep the secret. Ren turned to go. "Call me when you get out of the shower and I will help you put the contacts back in." She nodded and Ren opened the door to leave. He paused and looked back at his love. "Oh, by the way, I will not be upset if you touch my body in the shower." On that note, he shut the door behind him before she could say anything. Kyoko stared at the door with an open mouth processing his departing words. She blushed hard when they fully sunk in. Could that have been what had caused him to fall in the shower earlier? She shook that thought away, and turned to more pressing matters, how was she going to take a shower in Ren's body? Yes, he had just given her permission, but she did not know if her heart was up to caressing the skin of the man she held so dear. She thought about turning the lights off like Ren had, but she did not know the way around his bathroom well enough to try it. She looked into the blue eyes in the mirror and dug up the courage to strip off the rest of the man's cloths and get in the shower. She decided that she would just keep her eyes closed as much as possible.

She stood in the running water and ran her hands over most of Ren's body with her eyes closed. She had his measurements memorized, but feeling the angles of his body from both sides gave her more insight into him then any study of him could have done. She now had a LOT more detail to add to her dolls. She finally finished washing him except for one area that she was avoiding, but she could not just ignore it. Hygiene was important so every inch of the body she was in needed to be washed. She lathered up a washcloth till it was thick with froth. She had convinced herself that if there was a cloth between her hands and groin, it would not count as touching. She placed the cloth on her hand and carefully pressed it into the area she had been avoiding. Her eyes shot open and she looked down to see the response that the unfamiliar body was having to her touch. She made a great impression of a gold fish as her brain tried to process what she was seeing. She snapped her face back up and she clinched her hands as she tried to reorder her world. She has just see Ren completely naked and fully aroused, and she did not know what to do about it. She still had to finish her cleaning, so she went back to the job and scrubbed him clean gently. She was clean now, but the added sensations only served to compound her problem. She stood in the water and tried to think of ways to solve the issue, but the answers she kept coming up with made her blush harder and harder until she was almost completely red. She decided that she would wait it out, how long could it last? Kyoko shut the water off and found a towel to dry off with.

Ren and Yashiro washed the dishes while Kyoko took her shower. Yashiro teased Ren when he asked his now taller manager to put some of the pots back into the cabinet that he could no longer reach. He did not want to have an episode with Yashiro like he had with Kyoko when she tried to get things down from the folding cabinet.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Ren glared at the smile on Yashiro's face.

"Greatly." His manager admitted before chuckling again. The two men were interrupted by the voice calling for Ren from the bathroom. He had started to wonder if she was ever going to be done with her shower. He smiled a little at the thought that she might have actually taken the opportunity he had given her, but doubted it. Ren excused himself to go help Kyoko in the bathroom.

Ren knocked lightly on the partially open door before pushing it open and looking down on Kyoko. She was sitting on the bathmat with her kneed up and ankles crossed. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and there was a towel wrapped around her waist. She looked up at him with tears rimming blue eyes. Ren stepped all the way into the room and shut the door. He closed the distance between then.

"What's wrong Kyoko?" He asked. He had forgotten about using honorifics in light of the situation. How are you supposed to use 'san or when the person you are talking to is in your body, naked, mostly wet, and about to cry? Tears did fall from her eyes as she answered his question.

"It wouldn't go away." She whimpered as a deep blush rushed up her skin, she hung her head so she could not look at him.

"What?" He asked. What would not go away that would make her this upset?

"How do you make it go away?" She sobbed her question. It took him a moment to realize what the problem was. The epiphany struck and he blushed just as red as Kyoko was. She did not see his reaction due to her attempts to hide her face, but Ren pushed the embarrassment away so that he could help her.

"You should have taken care of that in the shower." Ren said with the best calm voice he could muster. Kyoko's head shot up and she stared at him in shock. Had he just suggested what she thought he had? Ren read the surprise in her face and quickly amended his statement. What she was thinking would work best, but that is not what he had suggested. "Cold water usually works." Kyoko calmed down as Ren helped her to her feet and turned on the water to just cooler then comfortable. He held her towel as she stepped into the water. He chanced a glance at her problem as she got into the water. His eyes widened at what he saw, no wonder the young girl was upset. He could not remember when he had such a response from a shower, but then he remembered his shower and the unfamiliar body he was in. In a few minutes, he pulled Kyoko out of the shower with chattering teeth and wrapped a towel around her so she would not catch a cold. Her problem had passed, but she was still on the edge of embarrassed tears.

"I really didn't do anything." She defended herself. Ren just smiled warmly at her.

"Don't worry about it." He tried to sooth her. "It's a natural response, it's ok." Kyoko still did not feel it was ok.

"Does that happen often?" Ren chucked lightly and blushed at Kyoko's question.

"More than I would like to admit." Ren sighed. Somehow his honesty calmed her down and they were able to dry her off. Ren helped her put the contacts back in to hid his blue eyes.

"You really do have beautiful eyes." Kyoko told Ren. The complement made him blush again as he led her to his room so they could find clothing for her. Yashiro poked his head out of the kitchen to see a slightly red Kyoko, dressed in Ren's shirt and shorts, leading a meek looking Ren, wrapped in a towel, by the hand into his bedroom. He quickly snapped a picture of the scene to share with Lory later. He was sure that the older man would love it. Ren found acceptable clothing for Kyoko and left so that she could get dressed. He went to the kitchen were Yashiro had sat back down to drink his coffee. He grinned widely at Ren and held back a snicker.

"You're still not helping." Ren glared at him, but that look just did not work right coming from Kyoko's face. Yashiro giggled a little more as Ren shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. This was really going to be a long day.

**Author's note**: This chapter was hard to keep out of M rating too. There have been several suggestions that I let it slip over that line, but for this story I wanted to keep it away. It's not that I can't write those scenes, I just wanted to make it acceptable for a wider audience. I will take your suggestions into consideration for omake of those shower scenes.


	5. Chapter 5

We have now come to Chapter 5! Thanks for sticking with me. Sorry if the last two chapters were a little strong, they needed to get clean, and there was just no way around it… Somehow I had forgotten that Kyoko had worn contacts for her acting, sorry. *smacks hands at the mistake and digs out the manga to reread it* I promise to do better, but I can't go back and change it now. As for setting in the timeline, well, I really did not pick an exact point, sometime after Ren realizes his feelings for Kyoko, yet before she accepts her growing feelings for him. But it would have to be after the first time she saw Cain, or parts of this chapter would not make sense…. Now I have to really go back and read the manga again so that I can place it better.

This is the point where things start to get confusing, please note that anytime someone that know the situation refers to one of the two subjects, they called them according to their original gender, not what they are now. So Kyoko, in Ren's body, will be 'she' and Ren, in Kyoko's body, will be 'he'. This is the way the actors still see themselves. To anyone that does not know their bodies have been switched, they call them according to what they physically see. I have tried very hard to make it so that the contexts of the surrounding words support this and leave no doubt about who is being referred too. I apologize if there is any confusion, please let me know and I will attempt to correct the issue.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

After Kyoko set out a plate of treats that she thought the fairy would like, they left to get Ren some clothing. He had suggested that he just go and buy some new things, but Kyoko had refused. She had plenty of nice clothing at the Darumaya, they just had to go and get them. Ren picked up his keys and handed Kyoko his wallet to put in her pocket. It would do him no good as he was now; the credit cards and ID were in his name with his picture on it. The three friends were at a dilemma for transportation; Kyoko could not go on public transportation, she would be mobbed by Ren's fans. She and Yashiro could not drive Ren's car, neither of them knew how. It was finally decided that Ren would drive his car carefully. If they got pulled over, Kyoko could always claim that she was teaching him how to drive. Kyoko got shotgun due to her now much longer legs, and Ren was surprised at how far forward he had to move his seat to reach the pedals. Once things were settled and adjusted, they took off to the Darumaya to get Ren something decent to wear. He also decided that he would need to pack a few extra items so that he and Kyoko could stay in his apartment until this ordeal was over.

Ren slipped into the Darumaya carefully and followed Kyoko's instructions on how to reach her room. The lunch crowd was starting to come in, so he was saved from actually having to greet the Okami and Taishou. He liked the older woman who mothered Kyoko, but the knife wielding man had always made him a little nervous. Ren counted the rooms till he came to the room that Kyoko had told him was hers. He slipped through the sliding door and stopped stunned at what he saw. Kyoko's room reflected her heart. It was bubbly and comforting. Ren's eyes cataloged all of the things tucked neatly into their holes and shelves. He smiled warmly at the picture box Kyoko had placed Queen Rose in, and the little bed she had made for Princess Rose. His eyes caught on the two pictures hanging on her wall. He recognized the large poster of Fuwa Sho. It was covered with pin holes and tears, as if Kyoko regularly threw things at the picture. He inspected his picture. It was right next to Sho's but there were no holes in it. He smiled at this and turned to the task he had come for. He still needed to get dressed and gather clothing for the rest of the week.

Ren stood topless in Kyoko's room and looked at the thing he was supposed to be putting on. He had seen woman wearing them, and he had even taken a few off, but he had never really paid attention to their workings. He flipped the bra over and inspected the clips on the end. One end had three hooks while the other had nine loops. He pondered over this for a moment and decided that they were there for adjustment. He knew the straps went over the shoulders, so he slipped it up his arms and tried to reach around behind him and to hook the ends together. It took him several tries to get the ends to stay, but once he did, he looked at himself in the mirror proud of the task that he had just completed. He was met with Kyoko's near topless reflection and he blushed deeply and turned away. He had forgotten for a moment that he was in the girl's body. He quickly found a shirt and pulled it on. No sooner had Ren finished dressing, a knock sounded at the door.

"Kyoko-chan?" The voice of the Okami sounded through the door. Ren freaked as he tried to do his best impression of Kyoko.

"Hai?" He answered and the older woman opened the door. The Okami brought a cup of tea into the room and sat it on the table for her young boarder.

"I thought I saw you come in during the lunch crowd." She smiled warmly at the young girl she had grown to care for. Ren froze not knowing what to say to the older woman. The Okami noticed the girl's uneasiness. "Is everything alright?" Concern crossed the kind woman's face.

"Yes!" Ren startled into an answer. He did not want the older woman worrying about Kyoko. "I was…. just… thinking about some work that I have been given." Ren tried his best to cover. The worried look on the older woman's face grew.

"They haven't asked you to do anything improper?" The concern showed in her voice.

"Oh no." Ren answered in his best Kyoko impression. "I have been asked to take care of my sick senpai." Ren figured that it was the best excuses that he could come up with for why Kyoko would not be here for the next few days. And it was true… sort of. The Okami looked at the girl talking to her. She was acting strange.

"Are you sure you are ok? You aren't sick too?" She asked. This was the only reason that she could think of for the girl to be so off.

"I am fine, I just have to pick up a few things so that I can do my job properly." Ren assured her and turned to find a bag to put some clothing in. He pulled out a large black bag from the corner of the room and popped open the clasp. He slammed it shut almost as fast when he saw the contents of the bag. He tried not to blush under the watchful eye of the woman studying his actions. He set the bag back down and rummaged in the drawers for some suitable clothing that would get him through till the fairy's magic would take effect and switch them back.

"I take it you will be staying over at his apartment again?" The woman asked. Ren swallowed at the question.

"Yes." He answered as he piled up some shirts to pack.

"He does treat you nicely, doesn't he?" Ren's hands stilled at her questions and he looked over to the concerned woman. He had only met her a few times.

"He does his best to make sure of that." Ren felt funny talking about himself in third person to the loving woman. She smiled at him and stood up.

"I need to get back to the restaurant." The Okami turned to go. She paused in the doorway and looked back at the girl standing at the dresser. "You know you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you." The older woman smiled.

"Thank you." Ren answered. He could see the concern in her eyes and he was tempted to tell her about the problem, but decided it would do no good. A few days would put thing right and Kyoko could tell her if she wanted. The Okami nodded and shut the door as she left to take care of her customers. Ren sighed in relief, now he could get back to packing. Ren tugged at the strap wrapped around his chest as he went back to collecting clothing. It pinched oddly and he wondered how women could stand these things.

When Ren had collected enough clothing for a week, he went back to looking for something to put them in to carry out. His eyes fell on the black bag he had dropped earlier. Ren tucked his legs under him as he sat on the floor next to the bag. He clicked it open and looked at the many objects inside that had shocked him earlier. Pulling out the little likeness of himself, Ren held it up so that he could inspect it closer. The level of detail the doll had surprised Ren, he remembered this outfit well and marveled at how closely Kyoko had rendered it. He squeezed the doll gently checking out how detailed she had made it. Finding that it was not anatomically correct, Ren looked deeper in the bag to pull out a few more lifelike dolls and laid them carefully on the floor. Pulling out a doll that was not him, Ren made a disgusted noise as he recognized the singer whose picture was tattered on the wall. He slung this one into the wall to his left and it hit with a satisfying thud before sliding into a crumpled heap on the floor. Ren smile at the warm feeling this action gave him and went back to looking through the voodoo dolls. His dolls were laid gently on his right while the Sho dolls went to join the first against the wall. When all of the dolls had been pulled out Ren looked over them. All of the Sho dolls were chibi style with scared or crying expressions. There were some of him that were chibi also with crying faces, but the majority of his were more refined and the face had started to be more lifelike. Ren sat in bewilderment for a moment and then remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He tossed the Sho dolls in the bottom of the bag unceremoniously and placed his carefully back on top before closing the bag. Now he knew what Kyoko meant when she told him that it was his proportions that had let her recognize him when he was Cain. Ren put the bag back in the corner with a smile. He had wanted his kohai to see him as a man and that proved that she was at least looking at him. Ren looked in the closet and found an empty brown bag and pulled it out. After packing the clothing into this bag, Ren grabbed the bag containing Kyoko's make up, her Corn stone, and Princess Rosa and placed these in the bag. He tossed his clothing in on top of everything else and clicked the bag shut. If he forgot anything, he could always come back to get it. Ren pulled on his bra strap again. How could Kyoko stand to where this uncomfortable thing! He was going to take it off as soon as possible.

Ren waved goodbye to the Okami and Taishou as he left the Darumaya. The last thing he wanted was for them to worry about Kyoko while she was not there. He was sure that the woman was already concerned about Kyoko. Ren tossed the bag into the trunk and climbed into the car where Kyoko and Yashiro were waiting. The conversation with the Okami and his exploration of Kyoko's voodoo dolls has taken more time than he had intended.

"Did everything go ok?" Kyoko asked as Ren settled into the driver's seat of the car. Ren's ears turned a little red as he remembered what he had found.

"I was stopped by the Okami." Ren admitted. Kyoko looked at him concerned. "I told her that you would be staying with me for a few days." Kyoko blushed a little at the implications of the man's words. Ren realized how that sounded when Yashiro squeed lightly in the back seat. "I mean… I told her that you were taking care of your sick senpai." Ren amended his statement. The noise coming from Yashiro increased slightly at these words, he was loving this. Ren shot his manager an irritated look. "You're still not helping." Yashiro snickered as he tried to control his mirth. Ren shook his head and pulled out into the flow of traffic and headed off to LME to talk to the President.

Kyoko sat in the passenger's seat and looked at her hands. She still could not believe what had happened to her and her beloved senpai. Her eyes shifted over to his smaller form working the controls of the car. She watched as he tugged at something under his shirt. She smiled as she realized that he was messing with the strap of the bra he was wearing. Her thoughts ran over how uncomfortable some of her clothing really was as she looked over the outfit that the actor had chosen to where. The long pants and fitted top were probably more comfortable for the actor to wear then a dress would have been. The smile faded from her lips as Ren pulled on the offending side strap again. She could not thing of any clothing that she owned that would cause him so much trouble.

"What's wrong Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked as her senpai tugged at his clothing again. He looked over at the girl occupying his body.

"It feels weird to be so formal in the light of our circumstances, can you please call me by my given name?" Ren asked. Kyoko blushed lightly. She could hardly deny that she could be any more intimate with her respected senpai then being inside his skin, and he had already asked her for this favor before this incident so she nodded in agreement.

"Alright R..ren-kun." Kyoko stuttered. Yashiro just barely contained his excitement in the back seat. "What's wrong?" She asked again. Ren's hand had made to tug on the strap again.

"It pinches." Ren confessed to his discomfort. Kyoko looked at him in confused, none of her bras pinched. She had made sure they were comfortable before she got them. Kyoko carefully reached over to the area that was bothering Ren and placed her fingers on the line where the strap laid across his side. Ren's heart fluttered at her light touch. She grinned when she discovered the problem.

"No wonder it pinches." She said pulled her hand back from his side. "You have it twisted." Ren blushed a little as his error. "I'll help you fix it when we get to LME." A snort issued from the back seat as Yashiro really did try to not enjoy the actor's plight. He knew that Ren was going to make his life hell when all of this was over, but he just could not help himself. Ren just shook his head and pulled into his usual parking place.


	6. Chapter 6

_Wow, we made it to chapter 6! Thank you everyone that has come along on this rider. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. I realize that the last chapter was transition, but it was necessary, and I tried to make it as cute as I could. **Freya's Doll,** I never think badly of a review unless it is a flame or are right it might have been better added to either chapter before or after it, but I am trying to keep the chapters to around 2000 words, give or take. Any more than that and I find it really hard to proofread them. Having a small child has given me a very short attention span._

**_Shizuhoe _**_thank you for pointing out my mistake, I have gone back and corrected the Rosa error and I went back to reread the first part of the Heel arc. I don't know if I misinterpreted the scene, but I was under the impression that he was not happy about leaving Kyoko terrified, not that he was unhappy about her being able to identify him by his body. But it's given me something to think about. And the bra thing, if I let him put it on right, it would have spoiled part of the fun for this chapter. _

_I love plot bunnies, they are so cute and cuddly and apparently multiply too many people. I've had that one hopping around for a LONG time, but I love him so here he is._

_Now, let's get back to the story!_

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Ren, Kyoko, and Yashiro got out of the car and made their way to the front door of the building. Yashiro excused himself to head to his office to pick up something that he needed to help with Ren's scheduling and the two actors headed to the LoveMe locker room so that Kyoko could help Ren with his bra. She tried to walk cool and confident like Ren usually did. Ren tugged on her arm so that she would lean over so he could talk to her quietly.

"Please stop using the walk that I taught you for modeling." He whispered to her. "You're going to draw attention swinging my hips like that." Kyoko stopped dead in her tracks as she realized what she was doing.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as a blush ran up her skin. Ren sighed, this was going to be a long day.

"It's ok. Just don't think about it and walk normally." He instructed and she stood back up and tried to walk as normal as possible. "Relax Kyoko." Ren reassured her. Kyoko stopped again to take a deep breath and relaxed till she felt at easy before starting off again. This time she just let the body she was in move naturally. "There you go." Ren smiled at her. Luckly, no one noticed anything different about the two actors as they made their way to the safety of the LoveMe locker room.

"Now let me help you with that." Kyoko turned to Ren as soon as the door was shut. He was happy to oblige her. "Take off your shirt." Ren pulled the shirt over his head and turned so Kyoko could unhook the offending strap. He had managed to get one end of the strap tucked up through the armhole and twisted. Kyoko quickly righted it and rehooked the clasp in the back.

"Better?" She asked as Ren moved his arm around, the pinch was gone.

"Much." He told her gratefully.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Both Ren and Kyoko turned to the sound of the angry voice coming from the new arrival. Kanae stood in the doorway glaring daggers at the tall actor. Ren quickly stepped back from Kyoko. He was not sure how to explain the situation to the young actress.

"MOKO-SAN!" Kyoko cried as the infuriated actress closed on the girl in Ren's body. "I can explain!" Kanae did not catch the use of her nickname coming from the tall actor trying to defend himself. Kanae's fury pushed Kyoko back and she placed herself between what she perceived to be the offending man and her topless best friend.

"YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" She nearly screamed at the male body in front of her. Ren took the opportunity to put his top back on and went to help his kohai with her best friend.

"Kotonami-san." Ren placed his hand on the dark haired woman's shoulder. "There has been a misunderstanding." Kanae turned to look at her friend. She was shocked to hear the girl call her formally by her last name. She turned her attention back to the man holding his hands up protectively in front of him and her mind replayed the last few minutes in her mind.

"Did you call me 'Moko-san'?" She asked the tall actor. Kyoko nodded at her and relaxed a bit, she might be able to make it out of this one alive.

"I did Moko-san. Let me explain." She used her nickname for Kanae again. She looked at the tall man that sounded like her friend and then to her friend that did not sound like herself. Confusion filled her face as she pointed from one to the other and back. Finally she was able to put her thoughts into words.

"What's going on here?" Kanae looked at the two actors for answers.

"It's a long story Moko-san." Kyoko answered as Ren released the girl's shoulder and stepped back. Kanae eyed the tall man wearily. Kyoko sighed and launched into the story about how she found a fairy and took it to show Ren. Kanae listened intently as her eyes shifted from the tall man explaining things to her friend standing silently with her arms crossed at her chest. Kyoko finished her story by explaining that she was helping Ren straighten out the bra strap when Kanae walked in. Kanae looked at the two in complete disbelief.

"That is the lousiest lie that I have ever heard." Kanae rounded on the actor again.

"But it's the truth." Kyoko whined and stepped back from the furious girl.

"If you really are Kyoko, tell me something that he," Kanae pointed to Ren with her thumb, "would not know." Kyoko thought about it for a second and launched into the story about their first commercial audition and how they went out for ice cream afterwards. Ren covered his face so that the blush rising up it would not be seen. He was glad that they were alone in the LoveMe locker room and no one could see the flowers popping out around Kyoko as she spoke about her best friend. He should never have that look on his face again.

"Enough." Kanae raised her hands to stop the stream of words flowing from the tall actor's mouth. Those were definitely Kyoko's thoughts coming from the man. "Say I believe you," Kanae still was not sure what to believe, "are you too going to be stuck like this?" She worried about her friend.

"Not for long." Ren answered calmly. "The fairy that changed us is working on correcting the problem. We should only be like this for a little while." Ren still had not told Kyoko that it would be days till they changed back. A knock sounded from the door as Yashiro came looking for his charge.

"Ren?" He called as he pushed the door open to see the three actors standing there.

"Yes?" Ren answered. Yashiro turned concerned eyes to the young actress facing the tall actor's body. "She knows." Yashiro nodded.

"We need to get moving to see Takarada-san." Yashiro looked at his watched. "I cancelled your morning schedule, but the photo shoot this afternoon is going to be a lot harder to take care of." Ren nodded and turned to Kanae.

"If you will please excuse us, Kotonami-san." Ren bowed to the actress. "Come on Kyoko-chan, we need to go." Kyoko begged her friend's forgiveness as she hurried past her and followed Yashiro and Ren out the door. Kanae sat down on the sofa in the room and rolled what she had just seen around in her head. Her best friend acting like Ren and the tall actor acting like the excitable teenager her best friend was. She thought back over what she had eaten this morning and remembered the nutrition shake that she had substituted breakfast for. It was the first time she had tried it and she vowed that it would be the last. Obviously it was making her hallucinate. She slipped into her LoveMe coveralls and decided to go get herself a cheeseburger to try to counteract the effects of the shake.

Lory looked at the three people sitting in his chairs. Yashiro had called to let him know that they were coming in, but he did not explain what was going on. Lory knew that Ren was supposed to be at a recording this morning and he had gotten a very concerned phone call from the director when Ren had called in sick. He looked over the tall man sitting unusually straight. He looked ok to Lory.

"Tell me what is going on Ren." He addressed the actor but was surprised when the answer came from the young girl lounging in the chair across from him. He looked at the relaxed way she sat in the chair, it was unusual for her to be so improper.

"I don't know how to explain it without sounding mad." Ren started. He looked up at his boss and friend. "Kyoko-chan and I have a bit of a situation and need your help." Lory just stared at the young girl in confusion. Had she just said 'Kyoko-chan and I'? He looked at the girl talking and decided to let it go until he knew more.

"How can I help Kyoko-chan?" Lory addressed the girl. This time the tall actor answered his question.

"Well, something has happened and we need you to clear our schedules." Kyoko answered as she blushed in embarrassment. Lory's mouth fell open at the red rising up Ren's skin. He had never known the actor to be so sensitive. Then it hit him, he had asked Ren what was going on and Kyoko had responded. Then he asked Kyoko what they needed and Ren responded… What was going on?

"Before I do anything, please explain to me what in the world is going on." Lory looked between the two actors then to the man smiling at them. Yashiro pushed his glasses up taking on a more serious air despite the smile that was trying to turn up the corners of his mouth.

"Kyoko found a fairy that switched their bodies." Yashiro explained as the grin stretched his face. Ren glared at him with Kyoko eyes and the man tried to school his face back to seriousness. Lory looked at the manager as if he had lost his mind. Maybe the stress of taking care of such a big name as Ren had finally gotten to the man. He looked to the two actors to see they were both nodding their heads at the bespectacled man's words.

"Wait, you're telling me that a 'fairy' switched your bodies?" Lory could not believe what the three people were trying to pull on him. All three people nodded together. Lory looked at Ren setting with his hands folded between his knees and then at Kyoko nodding her head. He looked at his calendar to make sure that is was not April first because this was the best prank he had ever heard of. Lory laughed at the joke. "Ok, very funny. Now what is really going on?" The smile died on Lory's face when the two actors both turned serious eyes to him. He watched as the young actress stood up.

"I need to talk to you for a moment." Lory followed behind Kyoko as she led him to a corner and told him things that she should not know. Either Ren and Kyoko had gotten a LOT closer or they were telling him the truth. Lory stood flabbergasted as Ren explained their situation using Kyoko's body and voice. After a few minutes the pair returned and Lory stared at the two actors.

"Alright." The shocked president said. "I will be happy to clear as much of your schedules as I can, but there are things that I cannot change." Both Ren and Kyoko looked at their boss.

"Like what?" Kyoko asked. Lory looked at the tall man speaking and had to remind himself that it was Kyoko.

"Well, we worked hard to get Ren a special shoot today." Lory answered. "Marianna Adual is only here for today and it would be impossible to reschedule it." Kyoko's eyes widened at the name of the French runway model that was posing for the female line of the brand Ren was representing.

"Isn't there something that we can do?" Ren asked. Lory was having a problem seeing the actor in Kyoko's body.

"We could cancel on them, but it would be a breach of contract and it could lose you the label." Lory explained the problem. Ren sighed, it would be a blow to his reputation, but he obviously could not model as he was now. Ren opened his mouth to tell Lory to cancel it but never got the chance.

"I'll do it." Kyoko spoke up from her chair. Lory, Ren, and Yashiro stared at Kyoko. "I can't ask you do that Kyoko-chan." Ren said as he looked at her. Kyoko set her jaw and sat taller.

"I can't let this hurt your reputation." Kyoko knew what losing his label could do to the man. "I can do it." She said again more firmly.

"But you don't know the first thing about modeling." Ren explained the problem to her. This just made Kyoko even more determined to do it.

"You can teach me what I need to know." Kyoko insisted. "You taught me how to walk like a female model, you can show me how to be a male model." Kyoko pleaded with her senpai through her eyes. Ren stared at her in disbelief. How could his face make such cute eyes? He thought about it for a moment longer. If anyone could do this, it was Kyoko, and it would save his reputation. He nodded.

"Alright," He agreed to her request. "But we don't have a lot of time, so this is going to have to be done quickly." Ren stood up and looked around for a good place to teach the girl what she needed to know for the photo shoot tonight. Yashiro let out a loud squee at the prospect of watching the lesson. Ren looked at the excited man and then back to Lory. "Is there someplace where we can work in private?" Yashiro's hopes crashed to the ground.

"Sure, you can use my private rooms." Lory led Ren and Kyoko to a door in the corner of this office and let them into his secure room. Ren thanked him and followed Kyoko through the door and shut it tightly behind him. Lory turned to the pouting manager. "Want to watch?" Lory asked him as he went to another room set in the other corner of the room. Yashiro nodded excitedly and the two disappeared into the security room to watch the fun through the cameras.


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome back for Chapter 7! I hope you all enjoy the next section, I had fun writing it.

Please let me know what you think...

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Ren spent the next twenty minutes rewriting Kyoko's image of a runway walk. Since she had done such a good job learning the female's side, it was not hard for her to apply the new style to the walk. The basics were the same, it was just the stances that were a little different. What took Ren the longest to impart on her were the facial expressions that Kyoko would need to play him convincingly. Kyoko could pull off the dark and brooding looks and the fun loving and light hearted looks, but it was what was referred to as 'bedroom eyes' that made Kyoko blush. Ren tired showing it to her so that she could copy it, but she just could not bring herself to look at him that way.

"Come on Kyoko-chan." Ren tried to figure out a way to explain it to her. "I know you have seen that expression before." He tried to think of a time when he looked at her with wanton eyes that would not be too hard for her to remember. Kyoko thought hard about it and her mind caught on the first time he had turned desire filled eyes on her. She could still feel his body pressed on top of hers as he offered to teach her about kissing. She blushed lightly at the look that she had deemed 'Emperor of the night' and tried to mimic that look. Ren smiled as she turned this face to him. "Good, that's a start, but it needs more heat." Ren explained. "Think of something that that you really want, something that makes your pulse quicken and breath shorten, something or someone that you desire with all your being and let that light show through your eyes." Kyoko thought about it for a long time trying to find something that stirred her inside. Ren was the first thing that popped into her mind, but she shook that thought away. How could she think about her respected senpai that way? Sho pulled up the wrong emotions, as did Kanae, Kuu, and Corn. She tried picturing Corn as an adult, but this caused more flowers and sparkles to pop out and Ren nixed this thought immediately.

"It does not matter is it is something you feel you deserve or can get, just that you desire it." Ren explained, he saw her consider this and fight with herself over something. He kept seeing the emotions he wanted pass her eyes, but she kept shaking it away. Ren thought he heard something click as Kyoko finally gave a sigh of defeat and settled on a thought before turning to him with heated eyes that made him shiver. He had seen that look on his face many times, but knowing that Kyoko was in there making those eyes at him had his heart racing. He knew she had found what she needed to get the job done. "That's it." He smiled at Kyoko, his heart wished that he was causing that heat in her. Kyoko dropped the intense look and smiled warmly at him, she was not about to tell him that she had let the last lock fall so that she could help her beloved senpai. She only hoped that she would be able to shove her feelings back into that box after all of this was over. Ren's heart skipped a little at the sincerity in her smile and he closed his eyes trying to calm himself.

When Ren was more centered he moved on to show Kyoko the different stances that she would need for the modeling job. Kyoko blushed a little at some of the sexy poses that Ren put her into, but she was able to pull them off easily after just a few minutes of practice. The next thing he did made Kyoko turned the same shade as a boiled lobster. Ren made the girl possesing his body take off her shirt and proceed through all of the walks and poses and looks until she could do so without blushing. He was proud of his love, she was doing a great job.

"There is just one more thing that you need to know before you are ready." Ren said as he closed the distance between them. Ren took Kyoko's hands and wrapped them gently around his waist. "You will need to know a few couple poses." He explained. Kyoko's face turned bright red as she tried to pull away from the close contact with her senpai. Ren pinned her with a warning look and she stopped her retreat and let Ren position himself in the circle of her arms. Ren wrapped his arms up around Kyoko's chest and looked deeply into his familiar brown eyes. Kyoko swallowed as her mouth went dry, she could feel the heat of their bodies mingle where Ren pressed into her.

"You may be asked to get up close and personal in the pictures." Ren breathed to her as he pulled himself even closer to his kohai. Kyoko's blush deepened as she felt the body she was in respond to the close contact. Kyoko instinctively wrapped her arms tighter around Ren as he turned his head to rest it on her chest. She was sure that he would go deaf from how loud and hard her heart was pounding. She could feel his voice vibrate through her as he explained that she would need to get use to the feel of a body against hers. Kyoko nodded her understanding and tried to relax around him.

Kyoko cataloged everything she felt from the body in her arms; the moist breath that caressed her bare skin, the pull of the skin as Ren moved his head, and the slight tickle of eyelashes as he blinked his eyes. After a few tense minutes, Kyoko started to grow accustom to the touch and melted around her senpai. She turned her head and let it drop to rest her cheek on top of his head. She felt him sigh and relax a little bit more. They held this position until Kyoko's breathing and heart rate settled out. When she was calm and comfortable with his touch, Ren proceeded to walk the girl through a series of two person poses where he wrapped his smaller frame around her in intimate positions. He also instructed her on how to properly hold a woman and took her through several positions that she would need to know. He explained that these would be some of the moves that she would be asked to do with the French model tonight. Kyoko swallowed down her emotions and worked through the exercise until she could do them all without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Ren made her do them again with the heated look in her eyes until it was almost natural for her. When he was sure she could handle the photo shoot and his control could take no more Ren pulled away from Kyoko's arms and tried to separate himself from what he was feeling. His heart was fluttering in his chest from the intimacy they had just shared. Ren so wanted to be back in his own body so he could do those things to Kyoko.

"Thank you." Kyoko bowed to her senpai. Ren turned and looked at his shirtless body and blushed. He didn't understand why the sight of his own topless form would make him have that response. Ren shook the thought away.

"You are welcome," Ren bowed back to her. "Thank you for doing this for me." Kyoko smiled brightly at being able to help her respected senpai out. "Get your shirt on so we can go before you are late." Ren turned away from the girl he loved in his body. He really needed to get ahold of himself before he did something stupid. He puzzled over the reactions and decided that it had to be the young girl's hormones that were causing him so much trouble.

Kyoko and Ren walked back out into Lory's office to see Yashiro and Lory sitting on the chairs as if they had never moved, but Ren knew there something was up from the smile that graced Lory's face and the little piece of bloody tissue stuck up his manager's nose. He glared at the two men as they tried to find something to occupy their attention other than the actors. Ren could not find anything to accuse them of so he had to let them go. Lory finally looked at the pair.

"Ready?" He asked Kyoko. She nodded her head and stood confidently behind Ren. Lory smiled, it was the first time he saw the tall actor's body look like he should since they had come in. "Good, you should just have enough time to make it to the shoot. I have cleared your schedules for the next few days. I suggest that the two of you lay low until this passes." Both Ren and Kyoko agreed. Yashiro stood up and gathered his bag to take the actors to the scheduled appointment. He pulled the tissue from his nose and dropped it into the waste basket. It would not do to have Ren's manager walking around with bloodied tissue stuffed up his nose. He turned to his charges for the day.

"Ready?" He asked seriously and received a nod from both of the actors. The three friends headed to Ren's car. Ren settled into the driver's seat to take them to the studio and spent the drive telling Kyoko as much as he could about the photographer that would be taking the pictures and the French model. He had worked with the photographer before, but this would be his first time meeting the model, so all she had to do was put up the professional mask he wore and they would not be discovered. Kyoko nodded as she tried to focus her mind. She had seen Ren's professional side many times so it would be no problem for her to copy him. Yashiro sat in the back of the car and listened to the exchange, he added in little bits of information he had gathered about the model and photographer when they were appropriate.

"If you get into a spot that you don't know what to do, just look to me and I will help you out as best I can." Ren smiled reassuringly at the girl. Kyoko nodded and set her mind as close to her senpai's as she could get.

Ren parked the car at the small studio and they got out. Kyoko stepped into the mostly empty lobby of the building and looked around. When she slowed Yashiro turned and took in the odd look on her face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked Kyoko. Kyoko turned concerned eyes to the manager and muttered something. Yashiro twisted his head to try and catch the quite words, but missed them. Kyoko swallowed and repeated her request a little louder.

"I have to go to the restroom." Just the slightest hint of red colored her cheeks as her two companions' eyes widened. Ren and Yashiro had been in this building many times so it was no problem to alter their course to take care of Kyoko's needs. The two 'men' stopped in front of a door and Kyoko looked at it ominously. She shifted her weight from foot to foot trying to dig up the courage to push it open and go in. She had almost decided to ignore the growing presure in her gut when Yashiro spoke.

"Do you need help?" He offered softly. She knew Yashiro was only trying to make things easier for her, but being treated like a child only made her mad and embarrassed. Kyoko glared at the bespectacled man and stepped forward and through the door without another thought. Her two companions stood and stared at the door that had swallowed her. After a moment Ren decided that using the restroom would be a good idea and turned to go into the other room. Yashiro stood in front of the two doors and looked between them. He was sure that Ren would have less of a problem with the task then Kyoko would.

Kyoko looked around the inside of the men's restroom. She had been in male restrooms to clean them in the many service based jobs that she had, so it was not strange to her, but she did not know if she had the courage to perform the task that she was there to do. She stood in front of the sink and tried to glare herself into it, but the image of Ren glaring out at her only made her more uneasy. Kyoko turned away from the mirror and walked over the row of porcelain fixtures on the wall and tried to think like a man.

'_Now how do men do this?_' Kyoko thought as she stood even with the urinal and set her feet shoulder width apart. '_Step one: position. Done.'_ She looked down at the front of her pants and reached carefully for the zipper. '_Step Two_: _Exposure.' _Kyoko closed her eyes and pulled the zipper down slowly. She carefully slipped her fingers between the rows of metal teeth, but she failed when she felt the silk of the boxer shorts she had been given this morning. Kyoko quickly withdrew her hand and dropped to a squatted ball with her hand wrapped around her head. She just could not bring herself to touch Ren's private parts. It was just not right! Kyoko's mind recalled the incident in the shower and she worried about a reoccurrence here.

"ARRRR. If only men weren't so weird I could sit on the toilet like normal…." Kyoko lifted her head wide eyed as a great idea hit her. She could sit on the toilet! There would be no need to touch down there if she sat down. Happily Kyoko popped up from the floor and when into one of the stalls and looked at the familiar fixture there. She unhooked the belt and dropped her pants without looking down. She settled herself on the bowl and relaxed so that she could relieve the pressure. An odd noise reached her ears and she looked down to see that the stream was not going into the water, but shooting straight towards the lip of the bowl. Quickly she dropped her hand down to redirect the flow before it could splash over the side and soaked the back of her pants. Her face bloomed tomato red as it hit her, she was now TOUCHING REN! She had touched the body that she was in when she showered, but she had been careful to keep the washcloth between her fingers and the skin. She slammed her eyes shut and waited till the sound of the liquid stopped before moving. She was going to have to look down to make sure everything was clean before she could redress. It wouldn't do for Japan's favorite actor to walk around with urine spots on his pants.

Kyoko cracked one eye and peeked down between her legs as she pulled her hand back. The liquid had stopped leaving just a tiny droplet behind. Kyoko snagged a square of paper and dab the drop away carefully, but paused in her motion when something unexpected caught her eye. She lifted the bottom edge of her shirt up and looked at the golden curls that adorned the actor. Why did Ren have golden hair? Kyoko marveled for a moment till it hit her, she was staring at Ren's naked body! The brilliant red rushed up her face as she jerked her eyes away from her discovery and dropped the shirt back down. Kyoko quickly dressed and flushed away the evidence that she had been there.

As she washed her hands, Kyoko stared at the image of Ren in the mirror pondering what she had just seen. Why did Ren have golden body hair? She looked closely at the brown hair on his head, it was definitely not golden. Kyoko closed her eyes and tried to picture Ren with the swimming blue eyes she knew he truly had and golden hair. Her heart pounded as the image materialized in her head and she gasped. He was not allowed to look that good, it would endanger the hearts of all the women of Japan! Kyoko was bewildered by her imagination; the picture she had come up with was something akin to what she had imagined Corn would look like as an adult. Kyoko giggled as she pictured her senpai dressed as a fairy prince with big beautiful wings.

'_Wait!' _ She thought as she rested her hand on the exit door. _'If Yashiro-san does not know about the blue eyes, would he know about the golden hair?'_ She pondered for a moment and decided that it would be best to push the thought from her mind until she and Ren were alone to ask him about her discovery. Kyoko stepped out of the bathroom to find Yashiro standing between an upset man and the door.

"What do you mean I can't go in?" The man almost yelled at the manager as he looked up and saw the tall actor coming out of the restroom. "It looks like it works fine to me." Yashiro turned around to see Kyoko stepping out of the room.

"I am sorry, I must have been told wrong." Yashiro bowed out of the way as the angry man pushed past the manager and Kyoko to go into the room. Kyoko's eyes widened as she realized what she had just seen. Yashiro had delayed the man from going into the restroom so that she could have some privacy. The blush that had faded came back as she stepped close to the manager and thanked him.

"No problem." Yashiro answered as he pulled his glasses off to clean them. "Better now?" Kyoko pressed her hands together in front of her and nodded. Yashiro returned his glasses to his face and smiled reassuringly to the girl in Ren's body. "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." He offered Kyoko. She chuckled and smiled lightly as she tried to find the proper mindset for what she needed to do today. She was thankful for the managaer's consideration. Ren rejoined them a few moments later and the three friends quickly departed for the studio where Kyoko was going to take on the challenge of Ren's photo shoot. The two actors followed Yashiro in silence as they each tried to deal with their thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8

Yays Chapter 8! So cool that your still with me, thanks for all of the great comments and suggestions.

So, a few responses to comments, yes I know blond body hair is usually much darker then the hair on their head (I am blonde), but, hey it makes for good story telling, so we're going to let it slide a little, but thanks for helping me to keep it real **Auraya-of-the-White**. And there is a BIG difference between seeing Ren naked and TOUCHING him, and if I remember correctly, she pinned her eyes to his face and did not look at his body.

Let me know what you think. Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

The studio where Ren was scheduled to work was huge and dark. There were several sets that would serve as backdrops for the photos set up around the walls and in the center there was a collection of seats and tables where a few people were gathered waiting for the subject of the photos to arrive. Yashiro held the door open and let Ren lead Kyoko to the center of the room before the manager shut it and brought up the rear. Kyoko looked at the people that she would be working with. It was not hard to recognize the photographer from Ren's descriptions of him. Makoto Hideaki was tall, not as tall as Ren usually was but close, and handsome with wild brown hair. He was dressed in stonewashed jeans with a dark dress shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled way up. A camera hung from a strap around his neck. Not only was he a very good photographer, Hideaki was a renowned shutterbug and was known to take pictures of everything. Ren had warned Kyoko to be as professional as she could while working with the man, his lenses missed nothing. A light fear passed over Kyoko as Hideaki looked up from his conversation and spotted the party approaching. He raised his camera and took several pictures of the girl that was accompanying the male model to his shoot; he couldn't help but wonder who the cute creature was.

"Good afternoon Ren." The photographer smiled and went to greet his subject. "It's a pleasure to work with you again." Kyoko slipped into Ren's professional smile and took the hand that he offered.

"The pleasure is mine, Hideaki." Kyoko answered as Ren had instructed her to. Kyoko felt weird addressing the man that she had just never met so informally, but Ren had worked with Hideaki many times and they had agreed to use their given names. The photographer turned and greeted Yashiro in a similar manor before turning to Ren standing quietly in Kyoko's body.

"This is Mogami Kyoko." Kyoko introduced Ren. "Mogami-san, this is Makoto Hideaki." Ren bowed to the man properly as he knew Kyoko would do. Hideaki picked up his camera again and took a few more shots of the girl bowing to him.

"So polite." Hideaki said quietly before properly greeting the young woman. "It is nice to meet you, Mogami-san." Hideaki smiled at her. Ren returned the sentiment and the photographer led the group to the tables filled with equipment. He hooked an empty bar stool and swung it around for the young girl in the group to sit on. "Please make yourself comfortable, we are still waiting for Mademoiselle Adual to join us." Ren looked at the seat before perching on top of the stool, not because he needed to sit, but because it was what he thought Kyoko would do. Hideaki turned to Kyoko and looked over Ren's body. He noticed the light scruff showing on the actor's face and neck. "Did you forget to shave this morning?" He asked. Kyoko's hand shot up to her cheek to feel the stubble just pushing through the skin. Ren's eyes widened and he forced himself from the groan that threatened him. With everything that happened this morning, he had forgotten to have Kyoko shave.

"I guess I did." Kyoko dropped her hand and chuckled a little. "This morning was a little... hectic." Ren was surprised at Kyoko response, did she have any idea how that statement could be taken? Hideaki smiled knowingly at the tall actor and glanced at the girl sitting on the stool.

"I understand." Ren closed his eyes as he caught the suggestions in the photographer's words. He was slightly glad that Kyoko had not, he was sure that if she had, she would adamantly deny the implications to the ruin of them both. If they were not careful, this was going to cause rumors. "If it is alright with you, I think we can make this look work for you, that is, until Adual arrives." Kyoko pretended to think about this possibility as she searched for an answer from Ren. Ren nodded his head lightly and she agreed to what the photographer wanted. "Great." Hideaki waved to one of the woman standing around the tables and she came over for instructions. "Mina will take care of you today." Kyoko nodded and followed the makeup artists to the dressing room. Yashiro and Ren watched as Kyoko walked away. Yashiro didn't usually go with his charge when he changed and it would look odd for him to do so now when the actor had brought a guest to watch. Ren had half a mind to go with Kyoko, but it would be improper so he bit his lip and trusted Kyoko to do her best. Yashiro stepped up behind Ren so he could speak to him quietly.

"So what's it like to cause Japan's most desired bachelor to have a 'hectic morning'?" Yashiro grinned from ear to hear. Ren glowered at him over his shoulder. Yashiro snickered and backed up before his charge could retaliate.

"You know, you really aren't helping." Ren grumbled at the teasing man. Yashiro snickered a little more before turning to make himself useful.

"I am going to get _Ren_ something to drink. Would you like something too?" Yashiro asked a little more seriously. Ren nodded.

"Yes please." He thought for a moment about what he wanted. "Peach juice." He said. Yashiro gave him an odd look, Ren usually did not like sweet things. The manager shrugged and went to buy his charges refreshment. Ren turned back to the commotion around him. Now that one of the subjects for the photographs had arrived, the crew was working to prepare the first set. Hideaki noticed the eyes of the young girl watching him work and came over to the guest.

"So Mogami-san, are you a model too?" Hideaki pulled his camera up and looked at the girl through his viewfinder. He loved the way this teen looked, the angles of her face, the glow of her skin, the way her hair framed her shapely face, but it was her eyes that kept pulling him in. His camera loved those big beautiful golden orbs. Ren looked back at the camera pointed at his face and blushed lightly. He was used to being photographed, so he did not understand why the photographer's attentions should have an effect on him now. He heard the shutter click several times as the heat spread across his cheeks.

"No," Ren answered as Kyoko would have. "I am an actress, but I wanted to see what a model did. Tsuruga-san was kind enough to offer to let me watch." Ren looked towards the door that Kyoko had entered. Hideaki lowered his camera and looked over it at the girl. She was so innocent; he was dying to get her onto film. He looked at the long jeans and fitted top that graced the girl. They were not what he would have chosen to show her off in, but they did look nice.

"How would you like to try modeling? I can take some pictures for your portfolio." Ren held his breath, this would be just the opportunity that Kyoko would love to jump at, but he did not feel right making that decision for his kohai. He waffled on the idea for a moment as the photographer made puppy dog eyes at him.

"I don't know if I should," Ren played the innocent girl, "I do not know anything about modeling." Ren looked down and towards the door where Kyoko was. Hideaki followed the girl's line of sight and came to the conclusion that she was worried what Ren would think of her if she agreed to his request.

"It's easy." Hideaki said with a smile. "And if you are worried what your friend would think, let's go ask." Ren found himself pulled from the stool by the tall man and led across the studio to the makeup room. Hideaki pulled his new found subject around in front of him and pushed her through the door. "Ren, I am borrowing your companion for a few pictures." Hideaki placed the girl in the chair next to the tall actor.

Kyoko looked up in surprise as the photographer bent Ren to his will. The actors locked eyes and she could see that Ren was leaving the decision up to her. If she said no, he would oppose the man, but if she agreed, he would do his best to make her pictures turn out well. Kyoko blinked a few times before nodding her  
approval. She knew what an opportunity like this could do for her career.

"Go head." She agreed and Ren relaxed a little in the chair. Hideaki's eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning as he called Mina's assistant over.

"Can you polish this gem for me Asuka-chan?" Hideaki patted the teen on the shoulder. "Nothing heavy, I want her natural beauty to shine through." Asuka nodded as she picked up a small brush and looked at canvas she had to work on.

"You are a very pretty girl." Asuka said as she ran her fingers through the auburn locks. Kyoko sat in shock as she listened to the exchange. A slight smile crossed Ren's face as he sat still and let Asuka worked her magic. She only used a little powder, a light blush, some soft eye shadow, and lip gloss to color the soft skin. "There." She smiled happily at what she had done. Kyoko did not see much of a change, the makeup she wore for filming was much heavier. Ren stood up and looked at Kyoko, he gave her one last chance to say no. When this did not come, he followed the assistant back out of the room.

"You have a very lovely girlfriend." Mina said as she finished the last touches to her subject. Kyoko was too shocked to say anything. How could someone think that she was Tsuruga Ren's girlfriend! And to describe her, a plain and boring girl as lovely, it was just too much for Kyoko's mind to handle. "You're done." Mina pulled the protective cloth off to reveal the roguish designer clothing she had Kyoko change into before attending to her makeup. "Let's go watch Hideaki have his fun." Kyoko stood up and found her voice.

"She's not my girlfriend." She said weakly, her mind was still spinning. Mina looked back over her shoulder at the denial.

"You better not tell Hideaki that. You know how he likes beautiful women." Mina stepped out of the room as Kyoko stood there with her mouth open. Her first instinct told her to correct the woman, she was not beautiful, she was plain and boring, but she stopped herself. How would it sound if her senpai described her in such a fashion? He would never say that about anyone! Kyoko gathered herself up and followed the girl out to watch Ren work her body.

**Author's note**: I know that this section was mostly transition and not as funny as some of the other chapters, but it was necissary to lead up to something even more fun and fluffy. I am working the kinks out of it and will get it up as soon as it comes together. Thanks for your understanding.


	9. Chapter 9

Well, I see that Chapter 8 fell flat. I hope this one is more to your liking. Enjoy.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Kyoko stood in amazement as she watched Ren take direction from Hideaki. The photographer had placed his new subject against a plain white background that was lit by two very bright lights shining into white umbrella like objects that took the hard edge off the light. Ren stood there and looked out into the darker room as Hideaki captured Kyoko's image on his film. Kyoko could hear the photographer giving soft instructions to his subject, and Ren followed them easily. When the man pointed in a direction Ren would look in that way. Kyoko marveled at how simple her senpai made it look. This continued on for several minutes until Hideaki decided he had enough pictures of the girl standing and casted around for a prop. His eyes landed on the barstool and his well trained staff retrieved it for him before he could even ask for it.

"Have a seat." He said to his subject as the stool was placed in the light. Ren walked over to the seat and hopped up on it. He sat perfectly straight with his hands folded neatly in his lap as he has often seen Kyoko do. He crossed his ankles and hooked his heel over the lowest rung of the bar stool in a very polite and dainty way. Hideaki smiled and took a few pictures of the natural pose the girl chose before getting his subject to let different emotions play across her face. Kyoko watched intently as Ren responded to the softly spoken requests of the photographer. Kyoko's attention was pulled away from the scene when she felt someone step up and stop close by her side. She glanced over at Yashiro before her eyes returned to the action in the lit area.

"He really does an amazing job." Kyoko remarked to the man beside her.

"Just keep watching, that will be you in a little while." Yashiro commented as he watched Hideaki switch his subject's position on the stool. Kyoko swallowed back the nervous edge as Ren slid back to sit deeper on the seat and hooked both heels over the topmost rung of the stool. His legs butterflied out and he leaned forwards slightly to grasp the stool between his thighs. One arm was locked and supported the weight of his body as the other arm bent across his leg so that the hand wrapped lightly around the supporting forearm just below the elbow. From a slightly down cast face, Ren turned serious eyes out towards the man taking the pictures. Hideaki said something to his subject too low for Kyoko to hear and Ren turned his gaze to where Kyoko stood. The look changed from serious to wanton and the photographer clicked happily away on his camera.

The 'come hither' look caused a shiver to run up Kyoko's back and she had to shut her eyes and force herself to breathe evenly through her mouth. She stood there trying to understand the strange longing that washed over the body she was in. Was it a male thing? Or was it some conditioned reactions that Ren's body had? And if it was the second, why would the feeling stir by a look from her? Or was it the knowledge that Ren was turning those heated eyes to her? She shook this last thought away, he was just doing what the photographer told him to do, there was no special meaning behind the fire that lit his eyes. Kyoko's thoughts were interrupted when Yashiro poked her in the side.

"You're being called." Yashiro pointed over to the photographer calling Ren's name. A light color flushed Kyoko's cheeks as she stepped over to see what the man wanted.

"I would like to get both of you in a few shots together." Hideaki said with a smile. Ren stood behind the photographer and smiled. Kyoko's eyes widened a little at the request before shifting her gaze to Ren. He shrugged lightly and nodded, he was up for it if she was. Hideaki notices a hit of reluctance in the tall man, he was usually up for just about anything that the photographer suggested, short of nudity. Kyoko swallowed back her indecision and stepped forwards to join her senpai in the light, she could use this as practice for the real shoot that was yet to come.

Hideaki had Kyoko in her larger frame stand behind Ren. Ren folded his arms over his chest and grasped his upper arms before leaning his smaller frame back to rest against the chest behind him. Kyoko wrapped her arms around Ren to rest her hands over his. Yashiro smiled as he watched the pair settle into their pose. He dropped the knowledge that the two actors were reversed and looked on them as an outside person would, Ren stood a little stiff wrapped around the girl he cared about. A wide grin split the man's face as he held in the joy at seeing his project couple so close together. Hideaki looked at the pair through his viewfinder and frowned.

"Relax Ren." He called to the tense actor. He was not sure what was going on, the man that was usually very easy to work with was all tense while the girl that claimed she knew nothing of modeling was doing an exquisite job. He expected it to be the other way around. Hideaki pause as a thought crossed his mind, maybe it was the young girl that had put his model off. He watched as the girl tilted her head up and spoke quite words to the man behind her. This seemed to solve the problem, Ren melted round his guest and the two looked back towards the photographer with calm, almost content eyes, he quickly lifted his camera back up and captured the images he was trying for. He had the pair run through a few more couple pictures with no more sign of reluctance from his male model.

As the pair shifted through the different poses, all of which Ren had shown her during their training session, Kyoko listened to the quiet reassuring words of her senpai. His soothing whispers were more than enough to get her to relax and slip farther into the image of the tall actor that she was trying to portray. At Hideaki's urging, Kyoko bend Ren backwards into a more intimate position. Ren gasped as Kyoko took his weight into her arms and held him by a hand on the hip and an arm across the back, Ren reached up instinctively and lightly grasped onto the shoulders and neck above him. Kyoko has slipped into her new role completely and now supported the man inhabiting her body parallel to the floor. Looking into the familiar golden eyes pulled a strange feeling from Kyoko, a longing that she was unfamiliar with and she held Ren tighter so he press against her front. Ren was shocked that the innocent girl in his body could make such a wanton thing of her own accord. He closed his eyes while dropping his head back to try and stop the strange feelings running through him. His eyes shot open and he gasped at the feel of the rough stubble and soft lips pressing into the pulse point of his neck. His leg lifted from the floor as his knee bent up involuntarily. Hideaki clicked away furiously on his camera as he caught the sincere expressions on the young girl's face. Yashiro dropped to sit on the floor in excitement as he pressed his pocket handkerchief to his nose to stop the blood trying to gush out. There were other signs of joy from the surrounding crew, but these were interrupted by a loud blast of French words that issued from the model that pushed her way into the studio suddenly.

"Je suis désolé, mais je suis en retard. Le trafic était horrible." Marianna Adual called as she rushed into the room followed by her manager. Kyoko popped out of the character she was in to find her lips pressed against Ren's neck causing her mind to short circuit for a moment and she quickly withdrew her hands from the places where they were touching her senpai. How could she do such a thing to someone so important! Most of the eyes in the room had turned to see the arrival of the French model so they did not see the young girl drop from the tall actor's arms to the floor.

Ren sat on the bar stool and watched Kyoko take direction from Hideaki. He was proud of the way that she had slipped back into her character after their little mishap. Yashiro closed behind him and placed a bag of crushed ice on the knot that had formed on the back of his head. The drop to the floor had not been that far, but the angle his head had been in caused it to hit first. Kyoko had nearly broken down in tears over the whole event, having no idea what had come over her to make her act in such lustful manor. Kyoko was ready to howl her normal apology for the injury that she had caused her respected senpai, not to mention her body, but she had been stopped when Yashiro suddenly appeared next to them. A stern glance from him as he checked Ren over had reminded Kyoko that she was playing Ren and 'HE' would not make such a scene. Kyoko bit back her response and was able to regain her compositor to slip back into the mindset of the character she was supposed to be portraying. She politely apologized to the 'girl' she had dropped and asked if there was any injury. Ren assured her that he was ok and when they locked eyes, he knew he was going to get one of her dogeze bows as soon as they were alone.

Yashiro handed Ren the can of peach juice that he had retrieved for the actor and watch Kyoko put out a series of heated expressions that made the female staff members swoon. Hideaki loved it, usually Ren was just a little more reserved, but the emotion he showed today was exquisite. The photographer paused and had his subject switch backgrounds. Ren's eyes narrowed as one of the female staff stepped close to Kyoko and flirted with her. Kyoko smiled brightly and said something back that made the woman blush and giggle. Ren was not close enough to hear the words exchanged, but he swore he heard the woman's heart beat from across the room.

"How much of a playboy does she think I am?" Ren growled low. Yashiro chuckled at the jealousy coming off the actor. Yashiro uncapped his water bottle and raised it up in front of him as he thought of a response.

"You're just jealous that she's not flirting with you." Ren glared up at his chuckling manager. Yashiro sighed away his mirth and took on a more serious expressing. "Have you ever given her a reason to think you were not?" Yashiro took a sip of his water as Ren let out a deep sigh of his own and dropped his face to his hand. There had been many times that he had shown the girl affection and played it off as something lighter. No wonder her view of him was skewed. He had to set the girl's image of him right or she would never see his advances as anything more than fooling around. Ren found something to retort when Yashiro's eyes looked up and went sharp warning Ren that they were about to have company. Ren turned to see Marianna Adual had finally come out of the makeup room and was heading straight for them. The woman's eyes were locked on Ren, but not in a good way. The model stopped right in front of where Ren was sitting and glared at him.

"Are you trying to steal my job?" She asked. She had not liked that Hideaki had started the shoot without her, even if she had been forty minutes late. And she really had not been happy to find a slip of a girl in the arms of the handsome model that was her partner for this shoot. Ren stared at the woman in shock, he had not expected such venom from the famous model.

"N-no" Ren stuttered too stunned for more words.

"Are you a model?" She asked with no less venom.

"No, I am an actress." Ren answered as he started to recover. Marianna glared at him again.

"Then I suggest you leave modeling to the professionals." The woman huffed at him and turned away to where the photographer was working. "Amateur." She hissed as she left. Ren and Yashiro both watched the woman leave with wide eyes. They could not believe the audacity of the woman.

"Rawr." Yashiro made a cat crawling motions in the air toward the woman's back. Ren giggle at him and they watched as the woman tried to playing the perfect innocent girl for the photographer and Ren. Having been very late, she had gone straight to the makeup room and not properly greeted the 'men' she would be working with. Ren and Yashiro watched as the French woman greeted both the photographer and Kyoko with kisses on the cheeks. She gave Kyoko and extra kiss before turning her attention to work. Hideaki sent Kyoko back to the makeup room to get changed and placed Marianna in his spot for some individual pictures, but both of the spectators noticed the way the French model watched her coworker walk away. "I think she may have designs on you." Yashiro leaned in close to Ren and whispered.

"I think you are right." Ren nodded, it was clear from the look on her face that she would try something to draw the handsome man to her during the shoot

"Do you think it will work?" Yashiro chuckled at Ren.

"I think snowballs would have a better chance in Hell." Ren grinned wide in the knowledge that nothing the woman could do would sway Kyoko's heart.

"Want to have some fun?" Yashiro raised an eyebrow in suggestion and Ren smile deviously at him. They knew it would be a bad idea to mess around with the model, but it would serve her right for treating 'Kyoko' is such a rude fashion. Ren put down his ice bag and picked up a water bottle to go check on Kyoko. Yashiro laughed to himself when Marianna's eyes caught and narrowed at the sight of his companion leaving. This photo shoot was most definitely going to cause rumors.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10. I hope you like this chapter, I have been having a hard time coming up with ideas, so I am farther behind then I really wanted to be, but I think that I have gotten some of the issued cleared up. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Please let me know. Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Mina was waiting with a new outfit when Kyoko walked into the changing room. This one was more sophisticated than the clothing she was wearing. The makeup artist held something out to Kyoko who reached her hand out and took the plastic object and looked at it.

"There is a sink in the back. You will need to shave before you change." The young woman said to her subject. Horror filled Kyoko's eyes as she took in what the woman said. Mina looked at the tall man's shocked expression. "Is everything ok?" She asked. Kyoko realized that her emotions were showing and quickly slipped into Ren's professional face to hide.

"Everything's fine." Kyoko smiled at Mina. "I'll just go take care of this." Kyoko took the disposable razor and stepped around the woman and disappeared into the washroom that was separated by a curtain. Mina watched the man for a moment before turning back to her clothing. She looked up when the young girl that had accompanied Ren to the shoot stepped into the prep room with a bottle of water for the model. Her eyes cast around the empty room and Mina pointed her towards the room where the model was supposed to be shaving. The young girl nodded her thanks and Mina went back to checking over the wardrobe. Her eyes found a loose button on one of the shirts and she left to get the sewing kit from the travel case. Mina took one last look at the girl that was standing just outside the curtain before walking out the door. Surely Ren's friend would not interfere with what he was doing.

Kyoko stood in front of the mirror and stared at the reflection of Ren looking back at her. How was she supposed to shave his face? True, she knew how to use a razor, but the skin of the face was way more sensitive than the skin that she usually shaved. She cast her eyes around the articles on the sink. There were several bottles and tubes with what looked like makeup remover and soap, but she did not see anything that she recognized as shaving cream. Kyoko was about to pick up the soap when a familiar voice wafted through the curtain.

"How are you doing Kyoko?" Ren asked softly so that the other woman in the room would not hear him. He tried to step back as the curtain flew open but a large hand thrust out to seized him and drag him into the small room. The plea that came along with the actions stopped the startled scream that threatened Ren's throat.

"HELP ME!" Kyoko cried as she shut the curtain closed behind her senpai. Ren's eyes widened as he tried to find the cause of the girl's dismay.

"What's wrong Kyoko-chan?" He asked when he could not find a cause to her distress. Kyoko lifted the razor from where she had placed it on the sink. A smiled pulled at Ren's lips, but he let his kohai explain her issues.

"I have to SHAVE!" The horrified look on Kyoko's face made Ren's grin widen and he had to take a deep breath to keep his emotions in check. Even in his body Kyoko was just too cute for her own good. Kyoko took this sigh as a NG and she froze up. How could he give her a NG for not knowing how to shave? Ren reached out and took the plastic razor from her and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Kyoko relaxed a little at his gesture.

"It's easy, but I will help you." Kyoko relaxed even more at his words. "You have used a razor before, yes?" Ren twisted to face the sink and turned on the water to get hot before plugging the bottom.

"Yes, but never on my face." Kyoko explained. Ren took in the unguarded emotions that played across Kyoko's face. He was sure that he could never look the innocent, even if he tried.

"The basics are the same. Now, take off your shirt so that it does not get wet." Kyoko slipped out of the article and hung it on the hanger behind her. Ren had finished filling the basin and picked up a tube from among the bottles. He stepped back so that Kyoko could stand at the sink. "You'll need to wet your face." Kyoko followed Ren's instructions and brought the very hot water up to her face. He held out the black tube for Kyoko to take. She looked at the red label on it and saw that it was indeed shaving cream. Kyoko opened the top and started to squeeze some of the sandalwood scented cream into her hand.

"Not too much," Ren warned. "A little will go a long way." Kyoko dropped a pea sized dollop on her fingers and handed the tube back to Ren so he could recap it. She careful rubbed the cream between her fingers and found that it frothed up nicely. At Ren's instructions she careful covered the lower half of her face with the thick foam and rinsed her hands off. Ren pulled the cover off the razor and wrinkled his nose as he inspected the three blades before handing the sharp instrument to Kyoko. He preferred an electric razor, but this would have to do for now. Kyoko looked at the thing and back to her senpai.

"I can't do this." She looked back at Ren in fear. "What if I hurt you?" Kyoko couldn't stand the possibility of cutting Ren's perfect skin.

"It's really not that hard." Ren tried to reassure the girl. "And you would be the one feeling the pain." Ren smiled.

"Yes, but it would be your skin." Kyoko protested.

"Ok." Ren could only think of one solution to this problem. "How about I get you started?" Ren took the razor from Kyoko's hand and turned her so he could work. Kyoko smiled happy that he was willing to help her.

Mina opened the door to the makeup room to find Ren's guest was gone. She did not think much about it as she picked up the shirt and loose button so that she could sit in one of the makeup chairs to fix it. Mina had just sat down when she heard the girl's voice coming from behind the curtain. This upset the makeup artist, her subject was supposed to be in there shaving. Mina got up to give the girl a piece of her mind, but stopped with her hand on the curtain when she heard the girl speak.

"You're too tall." The girl's voice rang out. "Why don't you help me up on this counter, it would make the angle better." Mina could not believe what she was hearing.

"Is that better?" The male voice that she recognized as Ren answered her.

"Much, now move this way so I can… right there." The girls commanded. "Now till the head up."

"Like this?" Asked Ren's voice.

"Yes." The girl's voice sounded please. "Now you use short even strokes." Ren moaned a little in response. Mina covered her mouth as a light blush bloomed across her cheeks. She could not believe what she was hearing. Asuka stepped into the room to get the next outfit for Marianna ready and Mina waved her over to listen at the curtain.

"What?" Asuka asked. Mina shushed her and pointed to the curtain as the girl's voice came out again.

"Here you try it." Asuka looked questioning at Mina as the soft noise of protest came from the man behind the curtain. "Just be gentle and it will not hurt."

"Ok." The timid words of the man sounded. Asuka's eyes widened and a blush rose on her cheeks.

"Remember, soft gentle strokes." The girl's voice informed. "Don't push so hard or you'll leave a red mark." Both the makeup artist and her assistant turned a darker shade of red as they listened to the pair. "Just let it rub over gently."

"Like this?" The male voice asked and was answered with content ah-ha from the girl. They both covered their mouths as they gasped together.

"Now, stretch the skin at the base just slightly and you can get closer without hurting." The girl instructed and was met with a light grunt from the tall model. The two eavesdropping woman both giggled quietly. "Now you have to do right here."

"How?" Asked the male voice.

"Just bite your.. ya, just like that." The girl said as Ren moaned lightly again. "Now pull straight down."

"How's that?" Ren's voice asked.

"Good, now just rinse this out." The woman heard water gurgle down the drain before the tap turned on. "Use cold." They heard the sounds of water splashing. "Now let me feel."

"What do you think?" Asked Ren.

"Very nice." The girl sounded pleased. "Not bad for your first time…." The two listening woman could not take anymore, Mina ripped back the curtain to see a shirtless Ren standing in front of his guest patting his face dry with a towel. The auburn haired girl sitting on the counter had just pulled her hand back from touching the freshly shaved cheek. The actors stared at the two red women staring at them.

"Is something wrong?" Ren asked from where he sat on the counter. Mina's mouth worked for a moment before she was able to recover.

"I …was… just…. checking to see if Tsuruga-san were done yet." Mina covered as best she could. She was not sure why the girl was helping Ren shave, but she was glad it was that and not what she had thought she had overheard.

"I just finished." Kyoko pulled the towel away from her face and hung it back up over the bar where she had found it before turning fully to the two reddened women.

"Ahh… good…." Mina and Asuka backed away so the tall man could come out. The girl slipped from the counter and followed him into the main prep room. Mina picked up the dark blue shirt and dark pants and handed them to her subject to go change. Kyoko took the clothing and slipped back into the curtained room to change into them. Ren stood just inside the room and cracked open the bottle of water and took a sip out of it.

"Are you two dating?" Asuka asked the girl. Ren considered what answer to give the girl when his eyes were drawn to the door. Marianna had stopped in the doorway when the assistant had asked her question. Ren let a playful smile slip onto his face.

"No we are not dating." Ren answered.

"You seem to be very close though." Mina pointed out as she prepared to put Kyoko's makeup back on.

"You could say that we have a unique understanding of each other's inner working." Ren smiled as he locked eyes with the French woman glowering at him. The two makeup artists turned to see the model had come in and hurried to get the next outfits ready. Ren took another slow sip of the water and was holding the bottle up in front of him as Kyoko stepped out of the changing room. Ren held the bottle out for Kyoko to take.

"Thanks." Kyoko said as she took the bottle and downed about half of the water without realizing that Ren had opened it and taken a drink. Marianna glared at the girl that had just tricked the tall man into an indirect kiss. Kyoko handed the bottle back to Ren and went to sit in the Mina's chair so that her makeup could be redone. Ren took the bottle and slowly raised it to his lips and took another lingering sip without taking his eyes off the French woman. Marianna could read the taunt and the challenge that crackled from the young girl's golden eyes. The only way it would have been louder was if the teen had actually walked over and slapped the woman across the face. Ren recapped the water as he started to leave. He gave Kyoko a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed and paused for a moment as he drew even with the model. He let a mischievous grin color his eyes before continuing past the model stiff with anger. Ren laughed to himself as the door shut behind him. He would have to apologize to Kyoko later for his reckless behavior, but he could not let that woman get away with treating his kohai so poorly. It did not matter that he possessed her body at the moment. Now that he was not holding up the mask of Tsuruga Ren, Kuon's mischievous side was slipping through.


	11. Chapter 11

Here is the last part of the photo shoot for your enjoyment. Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

Ren watchedfrom the table as Kyoko talked with Hideaki about what he wanted for the next series of pictures. Kyoko stood in a dark blue dress shirt that was open to expose part of her now broad chest. She had dark slacks and a matching dark coat that she had not put on. Kyoko nodded as she took in the photographer's instructions, they were waiting for Marianna to come out of the changing room. When the French woman finally came out, she was dressed in a strappy red dress that clung tightly around her body and flowed away to an artfully uneven hemline. It was elegant yet sexy enough to draw the eyes of the men in the room. Her dark hair fell in loose waved around her face and shoulders. She looked magnificent, and the light she held in her eyes showed that she knew how beautiful she was.

Marianna glanced over to the short, plain girl standing next to the equipment table and smiled smugly at the girl. She was sure that there was no way that the slip of the girl could ever hold a candle to her beauty. She was going to use all of her appeal to capture the attention of the tall actor during this shoot. Ren smiled back at her and squeezed the partial bottle of water so that the plastic crackled loudly. Marianna's smile slipped as she bristled at the challenge offered in that simple gesture. She jerked her attention away from the girl and back to the man that she wanted to impress. Shifting her expression to something more alluring Marianna smile at the handsome model. Kyoko was amazed at how beautiful the model was and thought about how Ren would greet the model before smiling at her.

"You look beautiful." Marianna beamed a dazzling smile at the complement that faltered slightly at the sound of someone crackling a water bottle. Hideaki drew their attention back to the work that needed to do be done and explained the series of romantic shots they were going to be using. It would start with them apart and would end in an embrace close to the one that Kyoko had dropped Ren from.

Kyoko took up the jacket and hooked it from two fingers over her shoulder so that it hung down her back before finding her position leaning her shoulder against a brick wall with one foot crossed over the other. Marianna was going to walk past and Kyoko was supposed to watch her wantonly. Hideaki had Marianna repeat her pass a few times, but he was not getting the expression that he wanted from this tall model.

"What is wrong Ren?" Hideaki asked. The male model had been giving the correct emotions when they had done the solo pictures; why were they eluding him now? Marianna was starting to get perturbed at having to make the same pass over and over again. She had believed that Tsuruga Ren was a professional that always got it right.

"Sorry, just give me a moment." Kyoko closed her eyes to try to figure out what was wrong. As she sorted through her thoughts she found that the beautiful woman just did not stir an emotional response in her. She had to come up with a way to get the response that Hideaki was looking for, but how was the question. She had been using the strange feelings that Ren stirred in her during the single shoot, but she was trying not to use those thoughts now. Kyoko felt it was wrong to use her respected senpai that way, what would he think if he knew that she was thinking about him in a less then respectable manor? She felt like she was failing again, even now when she was not acting with him, he was driving her. Kyoko took a deep breath and let it out slowly to clear her mind out. She decided that the best thing to do at this moment in time was to use those thoughts to get the desired results, she would just have to practice later so she would not have to lean so heavily on her senpai for help. Kyoko opened her eyes and took in the woman waiting for her. She let her mind replace the French woman with Ren and let out a snort of laughter as an image of Ren wearing the strappy red dress slipped into her mind. She quickly pushed that image away and replaced it with something more appropriate and turned her attention back to the photographer and waiting model. Kyoko signaled that she was ready and the model made the pass once again. This time Kyoko was ready to give photographer exactly what he wanted.

The pair of models moved through the series of situations, each one a little more intimate than the previous. The pictures turned out perfectly once Kyoko had gotten over using her senpai's image to drive her. Marianna glowed now that she thought the tall man was finally responding to her feminine wiles. She could feel the desire in him burning her up. She was sure that there was no way that impish little girl could win him away from her now. The French model pressed into the masculine frame that she was wrapped around and breathed in the soft scent of sandalwood clinging to the skin of his neck, such an elegant fragrance mixed with his own scent. She pulled back to look into his brown eyes and tilted her head back so that he could have a better angle to kiss her at. With that heated expression on his face, she was sure that he would take the opportunity, none of her other partners had passed up the offer. She shot him a longing expression and parted her lips invitingly before closing her eyes to receive what she knew was coming.

Instead of the feel his mouth on hers, she felt strong hands shift around to take her weight as Hideaki called for the pair to move into the final position. Marianna chided herself, of course, 'Ren' would want to wait for the last pose before risking messing up their makeup. Marianna leaned back against the strong arms supporting her and raised her knee up so the dress would hang down dramatically. She looked into the brown orbs above her and blushed slightly from the fiery look in the man's eyes. She closed her eyes and surrendered to his needs as the photographer clicked away on his camera. Marianna could feel her partner's hot breath on her neck and a small sigh slipped from her as she imagined what his soft lips would feel like on her skin. She relaxed into her anticipations and waited for the touch she craved.

Marianna was shocked when 'Ren' lifted her up to her feet without the kiss she was expecting to get. She had missed when Hideaki had called that he thought he had enough pictures. Marianna looked at the face of man that just released her to find no trace of the desire that had been there a moment ago. In fact, he seemed to be blushing slightly.

"Just wait here while I make sure I have not forgotten anything." Hideaki said as he turned away to check his paperwork. Marianna followed Kyoko over to where Yashiro and Ren were waiting for her return. Just before they joined the group at the table Marianna reached out and touched the male model's arm so that he would turn to look at her. They had such a connection a few moments ago and she wanted to use that to get her way with the man. Kyoko turned to see what the French woman needed.

"Have dinner with me s'il vous plaît." Marianna asked in a voice racked with longing. Kyoko stared at the woman in surprise, she had not expected this. She cast her eyes around for the answer that Ren would give to a colleague. On one hand it would be rude to refuse an invitation from the woman coming from out of town, but on the other she had the predicament that she and Ren were in. Kyoko looked over to Ren, but he seemed to be interested in something in the corner. Kyoko turned back to the woman touching her arm.

"I am sorry," Kyoko bowed her apology to Marianna. "I have a previous engagement." The French model dropped her hand from Kyoko's arm to the crackling of the water bottle in Ren's hand. He smiled at the woman making a play for his body and she shot him a dagger laced glare. Kyoko missed the look as she turned her attention to Ren crunching the bottle on the stool.

"Could you stop doing that," Kyoko said as she took the bottle away from Ren. "It's annoying." Ren shrugged and Kyoko shook her head as she pulled off the cap and drained what was left of the water in the bottle. Yashiro stepped up to Marianna and spoke low so that only she could hear him.

"You needn't worry about his dinner plans. She will make sure he eats right." Yashiro's glass gleamed devilishly as the model turned to glare at the bespectacled man. "And if he doesn't, I am sure that she's willing to feed it to him." Yashiro grinned as Marianna turned bright red in anger, huffed at him, and stomped away. Kyoko turned to watch the model storm from the room to get changed back into her own clothing before looking back over at Ren's manager to see the tail end of his mischievous smile disappear as he slipped back behind his professional mask.

"What happened?" Kyoko asked as Yashiro came over. The manager gave her innocent eyes that Ren did not believe as Yashiro claimed he had no idea.

"I just assured her that Ren's _engagement_ was merely with an associate from work." Ren did not like the emphasis that Yashiro put on the word 'engagement', it sounded dirty somehow. Kyoko's heart stung as Yashiro implied that she was just a coworker and nothing more. She closed her eyes to conceal any emotion that might show there. She had led herself on with thoughts of Ren as more than just her senpai for long enough. There was no way a big name actor like Ren would ever love someone like her, besides he already had someone that he liked. She told herself this over and over again as her grudges jumped on the lid of the box that she was trying to stuff all of the feelings she has stirred up back into. Her angels were hard at work trying to pull them off, but a few of the grudges had stolen the pitchforks from the Sho demons that plagued her and were driving the angels back with them. Her grudges had just about won when her concentration was broken by soft words from the person plaguing her heart.

"Are you ok Kyoko-chan?" Ren's voice was colored with concern, her face spoke of the pain that she was inflecting on her heart. Kyoko opened her eyes and took in the worry held in those familiar golden eyes. Her angels cheered as the grudges went flying when the lid of the box popped open to let the feeling she was fighting come pouring back out. Desire filled her eyes as she looked at her own body being moved by Ren. She tried to swallow back her feelings, but she had just spent too much time wallowing in them. Ren froze in surprise to see such strong emotions playing out on his beloved's face. The terror and torment mixed with passion and desire were too jumbled in Kyoko countenance for Ren to be able to make out what she was feeling. She could not hold it in check any longer, she knew that it would most likely mean that Ren would turn her away, but she just could not bear the pain of holding in the feeling that were running wild in her. She opened her mouth to tell him what was in her heart, but was never got the chance. Hideaki chose that exact moment to come back and announce that he had everything he needed and they could go. Kyoko took the chance to escape to the safety of the dressing rooms so she could work on regaining her control.

Hideaki watched as the normally calm actor tore out of the room as fast as his long legs would let him go without running. And for Ren, that was surprisingly fast. The photographer turned his attention back to the young lady staring after the retreating man. He still wanted to talk to her about the pictures that he had taken for her portfolio. They had been taken on 35mm film and it would be several days before he could get the negatives developed and transferred over to digital copies. Hideaki loved to work with real film when he could. He enjoyed the excitement of not knowing if a shot turned out properly until it was developed and the rush of slipping that exposed paper into the developing solution and watching the final image come to life.

"About your pictures," Ren pulled his attention away from the door where Kyoko had disappeared and back to the photographer standing by his side. "It will be a few days till I can have them ready for you." Hideaki explained. "Where would you like me to deliver them?" Ren thought about this and looked over at the gleeful face of his manager.

"Could you send them to Ren's manager?" Ren spoke softly. "If you would not mind?" Hideaki turned to look at the bespectacled man to see the professional face he slipped his glee behind. The joy just barely glinted in his eye.

"I would be happy to make sure you got them, Mogami-san." Yashiro bowed a little for affect. Ren knew that he should have them sent directly to Sawara, but he would not get a chance to see them that way, and it would be weird to have them sent to Ren, seeing that everything that going to Ren came through Yashiro. The only way to make sure that they reached him was to send it to his manager. Yashiro would make sure that he got a copy while supplying the originals to Kyoko. It was also the little treat that Yashiro deserved for helping them survive this ordeal, even if he had nearly burst with laughter initially.

"Very well." Hideaki agreed once he received permission from the manager. He turned his attention back to the young woman on the stool. "Here is my card." The photographer held out a card for the young woman to take. "If you decided that you want to get into modeling, be sure to call me first. I will be happy to help you in any way I can." Hideaki winked suggestively at the young woman as she reached for the offered information. Ren's eyes widened as he realized that the photographer had just hit on him.

"Th-thank you." He stuttered and took the card. This was definitely a contact that Kyoko could use in the future, but the possessive side of Ren wanted to tear up the card and toss it back in the man's face screaming that the cute girl was taken. He refrained from burning Kyoko's bridges before she even knew she had them and pocketed the card. The photographer bow to the pair and excused himself so he could start packing up his equipment. Ren look at his manager expecting some sort of comment from him,but it did not come. Yashiro just stood next to Ren and tied not to smile. He knew that if he teased the his charge about being hit on that Ren might tell Hideaki to send the pictures somewhere else and he would never get to see those cute images again. Ren just let out a sigh and went to meet Kyoko who was just coming out of the dressing room. She had spent a fair amount of time scolding herself back into the place she felt she deserved and had managed to get at least one lock back on the box, but her grudges were still struggling trying to make sure that one did not shatter under the strain.

The three coworkers said farewell to the professionals that they had worked with. Hideaki smiled and thanked the two actors for their work. Marianna had given a polite, yet less then friendly farewell to the group and huffed into a chair to wait for her escort to collect her. Her manager had left shortly after they had arrived to take care of the rest of the model's night. And the two makeup artist giggled when the auburn haired girl led the tall man to the door. The shoot was finally over so Ren and Kyoko could now go back to Ren's apartment and be themselves, or as much of themselves as possible when one is not in their own body.


	12. Chapter 12

We have now made it to Chapter 12. Who knew this could be so much fun. Please let me know what you think. Thank you.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat**!

It was starting to get late when Ren settled into the driver's seat of his little silver sports car and looked at the tall form that he was use to inhabiting. Kyoko was sitting in the passenger's seat with her eyes closed and her head thrown back against the headrest. It had been a long and emotional day for both of them and they were glad that it was just about over. Yashiro had abandoned the pair in favor of taking the train home. The bespectacled man had thoroughly enjoyed the pair's predicament, but he also understood when it was time to back off and let the couple have the 'alone time' they needed. Kyoko had tried to convince the man to let Ren take him home, but Yashiro shot Ren a smile that spoke volumes and bid both of the actors good night before walking away into the growing darkness.

Ren started the car and turned it towards his home when a strange noise caused him to startle. He looked down to make sure that he had not left the parking brake on. He could not find anything wrong and started off again when the noise sounded again. This time he realized that it was the sound of his stomach protesting that they had not stopped for lunch. Kyoko opened her eyes and looked over at Ren who was now covering the noisy thing with the hand that was not steering the car. Kyoko laughed out loud at how cute the blush that rose up his cheeks.

"I did not realize how cute I looked when I blush." Kyoko commented as she studied the face that Ren was using. This only made the red on his cheeks darken.

"Now you know how I feel." Ren muttered to himself. Kyoko cocked her head so that she could hear the soft grumbled words.

"What was that?" She asked. Ren cleared his throat and spoke so Kyoko could hear him.

"I said that I think we should get something to eat." Kyoko was sure that was not what her senpai had said, but she agreed with him. "How about we stop for some take out?" Ren suggested. "It has been a long day for both of us and it would be quicker than trying to cook something." Kyoko grumbled her agreement and Ren headed to a place where he could get good Chinese takeout.

Ren laughed when Kyoko insisted on carrying the bags of steaming food up to his apartment. She had informed him that it was the male's job to take care of the lady and since she was the 'man' at the moment, she needed to carry up the bags. He had backed away with a wave of the hand and allowed Kyoko to take up the task, but he did make a mental note to use that one on her at some time when she was being stubborn. He was sure that she would later regret using this logic on him now. After disposing of their shoes, Kyoko and Ren headed into the living room where they could relax and enjoy their repast.

Kyoko stirred around the remains of the food she could not get down. Ren had chuckled when she had hit that full point halfway through her meal, but she glared at him and forced herself to eat more out of spite.

"Please don't finish it," Ren laughed from his side of the table. "You'll make me fat." Kyoko glared at him again and put her chopsticks down in defeat. She leaned back to lie on the floor and let the food digest a little. Her eyes sought out the iridescent flicker of the tiny fairy sleeping in Ren's potted plant and wondered when the small creature would be strong enough to change them back to their own bodies. Ren gathered up the empty takeout containers and tossed them into the bag to take them to the kitchen. He came back a few moments later with a digestive aid and some water for his beloved. He knew how she felt after stuffing herself so full. Kyoko sat up long enough to take the offered medication and laid back down. Ren sat on the floor next to her and looked down as his body and the girl residing inside it.

"SO… How did you like being me for a day?" Ren asked as he leaned back to support his weight on his arms. Kyoko rotated her head and looked up at her body and the man inside it. She had folded her hands up over her chest and laced her fingers together as she thought about the answers she should give.

"It was hard." She finally answered after a few minutes. "Modeling was a lot more stressful then I thought it would be." Ren rolled his head to look down into the face that was now turned towards him.

"That's because you were trying to play me while you did it." Ren explained. "It is usually a lot easier when you are not worried about trying to be someone else." Ren shifted his weight so he could free one hand to brush the loose hair back from Kyoko's eyes. He noted that he was going to need a haircut soon and went back to leaning against both arms. A little red bloomed on Kyoko's cheeks at the light touch. "You really did an excellent job today." Kyoko closed her eyes and sighed deeply, it made her feel good to get her senpai's approval.

"Thanks." She said without opening her eyes. She was still having some trouble with her emotions. She felt Ren shift next to her to lie back in a position very similar to hers, but he was facing the other way so his head came to rest of the floor near her waist. They rested in silence for a while as they processed their days. Kyoko shifted as she felt a familiar, yet dreaded, pressure growing in her gut. She tried to ignore it, but the feeling grew more urgent the longer she waited. Finally she pushed herself up from the floor and made her way down to the hall into the bathroom. Ren watched her leave from where he rested on the floor. He loved the food from that place, but it did have a tendency to go straight through him.

A long time passed before Kyoko came back out of the bathroom blushing and refused to look down at where Ren was still lying on the floor. Kyoko wrapped her arms around the body she was using and went to look out the window into the darkness of the city around them. Ren left her be as she sorted through her thoughts. Kyoko stared at the face of the man troubling her heart, at the blue eyes covered by brown contacts, and brown hair that she was sure was golden in color. Her mind was able to switch the colors in the transparent reflection in the window. One word kept swirling around in her mind and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms, Why.

"Ren-kun." She spoke his given name softly half hoping that he was a sleep and she could not ask the questions that were tearing her up inside. He was hiding his true form for a reason, but she was just dying to know.

"Yes Kyoko-chan?" Ren answered, he had been watching her through half lidded eyes since she walked back in the room. Kyoko shivered and gathered her courage to ask the question she wanted to know.

"Why do you dye your hair?" Kyoko spoke quietly and he almost missed the question from where she stood across the room. Ren sighed heavily and sat up from the floor. He rubbed his fingers across his eyes to pinch the bridge to the delicate nose on his face. He then ran his hand up into the short auburn hair on his head and ruffled it hard trying to figure out what to say to the girl waiting in his body. He decided to tease her a little as he worked up the courage to tell her the truth.

"What makes you think I dye my hair?" Ren looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. Kyoko blushed bright red.

"Well…. I …. In the bathroom….. golden…. "Kyoko stuttered as she tried to find a good way to explain how she had discovered his true hair color. A smile spread across his face as she squirmed.

"Oh you were looking at me in the bathroom." Ren stood up to face the girl as Kyoko's mouth worked without sound. The wail that issued from his beloved almost woke the little fairy as Ren watched in horror as she dropped to the floor in a dogeze bow.

"I'M SO SORRY TSURUGA-SAN! I COULDN'T HELP IT!" Kyoko balled out an apology.

"Oh Shit!" Ren cursed as he rushed to his fallen form as the apology from the girl inside his body degraded to a random collection of words. As he tried to pry Kyoko up, he caught the words 'restroom', 'pee', and 'wings', but the rest was too jumbled to make sense of. He had not meant to push her that far, he had let him mask slip away too much today and Kuon had given him too much of a snarky edge in the delicate situation. Ren levered Kyoko from the floor and rested her head on his chest so he could hold her as she cried.

"I am sorry Kyoko." He apologized to his love. "I should not have teased you like that, we have both been through a lot today and that went too far." Ren rocked and patted Kyoko trying to get her to calm back down. "We have both had some awkward moments today, but I don't want that to come between us." Ren chose his words carefully before he went on. This was not how he wanted to tell Kyoko how he felt, and with as delicate as her emotional state was at the moment, he was afraid that if he did she would disappear after this was over. "It does not matter what happens while we are changed, I will still be here for you after this is over." Kyoko nodded against his chest and sat all the way up to look at her senpai. He reached up and started to scrub her eye with a knuckle. Ren reached out and grabbed her hand before she could irritate it with the contact. "Why don't you go take those contacts out and we will talk, ok?" Kyoko nodded and left for the bathroom.

Ren stood up and walked over to his liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle. He knew he should not do it, but he needed something to help him deal with everything that had happened and what he was about to tell Kyoko. He was not ready to tell her everything yet, just as much as she needed to satisfy her curiosity about his hidden hair and eyes. If she could take that, then he might work his way into darker secrets. Ren poured himself a shot of rum and tossed it back. It was not what he normally drank but it was the most pleasant alcohol in his cabinet. He shivered as the body he was in responded to the unfamiliar feel and he poured a second shot. He tossed back the second shot and placed the small glass back in the cabinet. Ren knew his limits in his body, but Kyoko had a much smaller and lighter body then he did, so he stopped well short of what he thought she could take. He pulled out a highball glass and poured a measure of the rum into this glass and replaced the bottle back into its spot before shutting up the cupboard. He took the glass over to wait for Kyoko to come back from the bathroom.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13, Where has all the Rum gone! (sorry, could no help it) Please let me know what you think.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Kyoko walked back out into the living room to find Ren standing by the couch with a glass of ambler colored liquid. She walked over to him and he placed her on the couch and pressed the glass into her hand. She looked into the drink Ren had given her and swirled it around the glass. A rich smell reached her nose and she knew it was some form of alcohol.

"What is this?" Kyoko asked as she drew in the rich scent of the drink. Ren sat down on the couch next to her and tucked his feet up under him so he was slightly facing her.

"Rum." He answered and Kyoko looked at him warily.

"You know I am under age." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at the moment, you're not." Ren smiled at her. "I know my limits and there is not enough there to get you drunk, just enough to help sooth your frayed nerves." Ren's smile softened a little to something more reassuring. "If you don't want to drink it, that's fine." Kyoko realized that Ren was trying to help and took a small sip of the drink. She was expecting a biting edge to the liquor, but was surprised to find the rich nutty flavor to be somewhat akin to very dark chocolate and slipped down her throat with a warmth that reach clear to her core. She looked at Ren in awe, the only real experience she had had with alcohol was that one time Sho had snitched some sake from the stores at his family's ryokan, and that had not turned out very well.

"This is….. good." Ren smiled as Kyoko took another sip of the rum. He had hoped that she would like the drink. He waited for her to lower the glass before turning to what he needed to say. He was starting to feel the relaxing effects of the shots that he had taken.

"Would you like me to answer your question?" Ren penetrated her with his eyes. Kyoko rested her hand on her leg and sat her drink in her palm as she thought about what she wanted. She knew that Ren kept secrets about who he was, and it was his right to, but curiosity burned inside of her.

"You don't have to tell me." Kyoko answered. Who was she to ask the great man about his personal life? She could feel Ren's eyes burning her skin as she stared down into the drink resting in her lap.

"That is not what I asked." Ren sighed. "Do YOU want me to answer your question?" He rephrased his request. Kyoko picked the drink up and took a long pull at it before placing it back in her palm. She weighed her heart and nodded her head. She did really want to know who Ren really was. Ren took a deep breath and looked at the rum in Kyoko's glass; he longed to take it from her and down it himself. He let the air out slowly so that he could steady himself for his story.

"You know that Tsuruga Ren is my stage name?" Ren started somewhere that would be easy for Kyoko to handle. Kyoko looked up from her glass and pinned Ren with his own swimming blue eyes. She nodded her head and Ren went on. "When I took up that name, I changed my appearance so that no one would recognize me for who I was." Kyoko cocked her head a little as confusion creased her brow.

"Why?" She asked. Ren took another deep breath. Maybe it was the fact that he was telling Kyoko, or because he was looking into his own eyes, or it could have been the buzz he felt from the rum, or maybe a combination of all three; Ren was not sure, but he was finding it easier to tell his story then he had first thought it would be.

"When I started acting my father was well known in the field, so I was held to a higher standard than a new talent should have been." Ren explained and Kyoko hung on his every word. "I ended up with parts that I had no business in and got frustrated every time the directors would fire me for not doing the job properly." Ren had worked himself into full steam and pushed on to the real reason he was hiding. "I also got picked on about my mixed blood, which caused me to get into a lot of trouble." Kyoko broken into his story as his words hit her.

"Wait, did you say mixed blood?" Confusion deepened the furrow on her brow. Ren nodded.

"How many pure blood Japanese do you know that have golden blond hair and blue eyes?" He asked her. Kyoko turned to look at her drink again as she thought about this. Ren sat on pins as she raised the glass to her lips again and took another slow pull of the alcohol.

"You have a point." She said as she slowly set the glass back in her hand. "Please go on." She turned thoughtful eyes back to Ren.

"Towards the end I spiraled out of control and did some things I regret." Ren wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his hands up and down his arms to try and drive the cold he felt away. "The consequences of those actions broke me and I could no longer function as who I was." Kyoko watched as the memory held for so long tormented him. Ren closed his eyes as a single tear slipped from the corner and Kyoko pulled her hand from under her glass and reached out to place it reassuringly on the knees pointing towards her. Ren's eyes opened when he felt the warm pressure on his knee. He had expected Kyoko to scorn him for his actions, not comfort him in his anguish. Ren reached down and to pick up the hand on his knee. He marveled for a moment at how much bigger his hands were then Kyoko's before taking it up and lacing their fingers together. Kyoko gave him a little squeeze of support and he held to her like the last life line of a drowning sailor.

"At the darkest point in my despair, my father called Lory to come help and I jumped at the opportunity to leave the wreck I had made of my life. To start fresh and new somewhere that did not know me. It was a chance to prove to myself and the world that I could stand on my own without trying to live in the shadow of my father." Ren looked down at his fingers laced with Kyoko and tried not to cry.

"To fly without your wing being torn by the hands of your father." Kyoko spoke softly as she remembered another precious person's words.

"Exactly." Ren sniffled not realizing that Kyoko had used his own words on him. Kyoko sat her drink down on the table in front of her and shifted so she could pull Ren into her arms. When his head hit her chest he realized that she was not going to push him away for this part of his revelation and he cried in earnest as a weight lifted from his heart. Kyoko held him close until the last of the racking sobs passed and he was able to push away from her and sit up on his own.

"Thank you." Ren said as he wiped the remnants of the tears from his face. He froze as he pulled his hand across his eye and realized the unmanly thing he had just done. "Did I just cry my eyes out?" Ren asked in shock, even when he was at his darkest point he had never really cried like that. Got mad, got drunk, got violent, shut down; yes, but never cried. Kyoko chuckled at the shock on his face.

"Hormones are terrible things." Kyoko drained the rest of the rum from her glass and stood up to take it to the kitchen. She still had a ton of questions that she wanted to ask him, but she could tell that he was not up to answering anymore tonight. It was starting to get late and she already had a lot of stuff to think about. Kyoko rinsed out the glass and left it by the sink for a proper washing tomorrow. She was starting to feel the first touches of the alcohol. She walked out and looked at Ren still frozen on the couch.

"Come on. It's time for bed." She called and he popped up as if he had been waiting for her word. Ren sat back down on the coach as quickly as he had stood up. Apparently two shots were way more than Kyoko's small frame could handle comfortable. Either that or the proof on that rum was much higher then he remembered. Ren stood back up under the watchful eyes of Kyoko and tried to walk, but found that his balance was less than stellar as he stumbled and plopped back down to the couch. Kyoko came to him to find out what was wrong.

"Are you all right?" She asked in a concerned tone and reach out to help her senpai up. Ren took her hand and stood just to sway into her arms.

"Yes, I just…." Ren stopped before he admitted what he had done. She had not turned him away for his past deeds, but would she forgive him for abusing her body in such a way. Kyoko's eyes narrowed as she figured out the truth.

"You had some of that rum didn't you?" Kyoko glowered at Ren as he hung his head and tried to not look as guilty as he felt. "You know I'm under age." Ren looked up and gave her a sweet smile.

"I'm adding to the delinquency of a minor?" He teased her and she rolled her eyes at him. She really could not get mad at him. What he had just done took courage, but she wished he had not found it in a bottle.

"It's bed time." She growled at him and swept his feet from under him. Ren giggled at the sensation of weightlessness as Kyoko carried him from the living room. Now that he was unburdened by the weight of his past the effects of the alcohol were hitting him hard. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into the crook of her neck and took a deep breath. It was his familiar scent, yet the body he was in responded to it. He liked the hint of sandalwood on top of his own smell and he was sure that if he liked it in Kyoko's body, she would once she was back there.

"Remind me to get some of that shaving cream." Ren muttered into the side of Kyoko's neck. Kyoko gasped as she felt Ren's lips move on the side of her neck. She had just reached the edge of Ren's king sized bed so she tossed him lightly into the middle so that she was no longer touching him. Her grudges were all clinging to the lid of the box as the hinge groaned from the pressure of the feelings inside trying to escape. Ren squealed as he was unexpectedly flung into the bed and bounced laughing in the middle. He rested back on the comforter giggling as Kyoko dug through the bag that he had packed. She pulled out the different clothing before shoving them back in the bag and looking up at him.

"You forgot to pack pajamas." Kyoko and Ren stared at each other for a moment before Ren burst out laughing at his own error. Once he calmed down he rolled from the bed and dug into his dresser and pulled out two set of clothing for them to wear. The first were his favorite black silk pants and a soft cotton shirt, and the second was a pair of silk pajamas that had a drawstring in them. Knowing that she would be very comfortable in them, he gave the shirt and pants to Kyoko and took the silk pajamas for himself. Kyoko took the offered clothing and left for the bathroom to get changed.

"Even in someone else's body, you're always the modest one." Ren sighed and pulled off his shirt and flung it onto the floor. He unhooked the bra and deposited it in the same manner next to the first article of clothing her had removed. Ren stared at them for a moment before pulling on the top of the pajamas. He then pulled off his socks and pants and tossed them down on the floor to crumple next to the first two articles. Ren pulled on his pants and pulled the string up so that they would not fall to the floor. He had to roll the hems up several times so that he would not tread on the ends of the legs as he walked. He looked back down at the rumpled pile of clothing now on his floor.

"Not exactly how I dreamed her clothing would get on my floor." Ren sighed.

"What was that?" Kyoko asked as she walked through the bedroom door. She had heard him speak, but she could not hear what he said. A dark blush bloomed on Ren's cheeks as he whipped around to look at the tall frame standing in the door way.

"NOTHING!" Ren said a little louder than he had intended. Kyoko raised her eyebrows as Ren tried to find a way out of his predicament. "I need to go to the bathroom." Ren cried as he rushed past his companion. Kyoko looked over to what he had been looking at and sighed when she saw her clothing strewn about.

Ren came back from the bathroom to find that Kyoko had picked up and folded the clothing he had taken off. She had also turned down his bed and was sitting on the edge waiting for his return. Kyoko stood up as Ren came over and she helped him into the bed.

"What are you doing?" He asked as Kyoko pulled the bedding up over him.

"You're drunk so I am making sure you get to bed properly." She said as she tucked Ren in.

"I am not drunk." He grumbled, the shock of Kyoko walking in on his mussing had sobered him slightly, but he was still feeling the alcohol. Kyoko smiled at him and reached to turn the light by the bed off. Ren grabbed her hand before she could touch it. "Where are you going?" Kyoko looked down at him.

"I am going to sleep in the spare bedroom." She informed Ren. Ren pulled the blankets back and started to get up.

"Oh, no you are not." Ren made to get out of the big bed. "The spare beds are nice, but they are too small. I know what it's like to sleep in them. I bought this bed so that I could stretch out and be comfortable." '_Among other things._' Ren thought to himself before going on. "Since you are me today, you get to sleep in the big bed. I will go and sleep in the guest room." Kyoko placed her hands on Ren's shoulders so that he could not get up.

"I will not take your bed away from you." Kyoko complained as she pushed him back into the bed. Ren looked up at the hardheaded woman.

"Fine." Ren said stubbornly. "We will just have to share this bed." Kyoko seized up as she listened to her senpai's words. Did he have any idea what he was saying!

"Just lay down, you're drunk and…" Kyoko started to press Ren back to the bed, but he pushed her hands away and sat up with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I told you I am not drunk." He interrupted her words. "Anyway, you would be sleeping with your own body, and I would be sleeping with mine, so there is nothing improper about it." Something occurred to him and he voiced his thoughts to the girl glaring back at him. "Besides, what would happen if the fairy's spell took effect and we were not together?" Ren knew it would still be a while before the spell would take work, but he did not know if they would need to be touching for it to work. Kyoko's eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she thought about this. Kyoko reluctantly agreed and Ren smiled as she walked to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers. Ren noted that she lay on her side on the very edge of the bed. Ren leaned over and pulled on her shoulder so that she rested on her back.

"Move farther into the bed or you will fall off the edge." Ren spoke softly to Kyoko. "I want you to be comfortable." Kyoko nodded and slid a little farther into the bed before Ren rolled to turn out the light before he settled into his place in the bed. There were miles between them, but Ren was happy that Kyoko was in his bed, in one form or another.

Kyoko curled under the covers and listened to Ren's breathing even out as sleep took hold of his alcohol relaxed body. She turned the events of the day over in her mind. The secrets she had learned about her senpai and about the body she was currently using. The things that were said in the makeup room and the way the woman had flirted with her in Ren's body. Her mind flipped through hundreds of memories of men treating her the same way the girls had treated Ren today. Could it be? Was she not as plain and boring as she believer herself to be? Kyoko pushed the thoughts from her head and took a deep breath so that sleep would come to her too.

**Author's Note**: You know, after going back an proofreading this chapter, I realized that I had Ren take on more of Kyoko's personality, and Kyoko started to take on Ren's. maybe it's the fact that they are in each others bodies. I thought about rewriting this section because of that, but it just seemed to fit the way it was. Between the hormones of a teenaged girl, the alcohol, and the fact that he is not trying to be himself at the moment; this just feels (to me at least) right for Ren. Sorry if it is a little OOC, I will work harder next time.

Thanks for the inside look on life **Zaphi Nashii**, it definitely gives me something to think about.


	14. Chapter 14

Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it

**Note: I don't own Skip Beat!**

As sleep released him, Ren snuggled deeper in to the warmth that surrounded him. He was content where he was and did not want to move from the strong arms that held him. Ren's eyes popped open as his mind registered his predicament. He was currently snuggled into the chest of his own body, and Kyoko was holding him fairly tightly. He had woken up with a woman in his arms many times, but for it to be the other way around was a WHOLE different ball game. The only thing he could see was the gray of the t-shirt just inches away from his face and his arms were pinned between him that the body against him. He laid there for a long time mulling over what to do. He was ecstatic to find that he was pressed up against the person he loved, but he kept having issues. He wasn't pressed against Kyoko's body, he in Kyoko's body and pressed against his body. He groaned slightly at how his mind had made that innocent statement sound so wrong. And does loving the touch of one's own body make him a narcissus?

Unable to properly enjoy waking up in bed with Kyoko, Ren tried to push away gently but stopped when Kyoko moaned lightly and pulled him in tighter. He tried to wiggle out of her grip, but found that their legs were intertwined too. He relaxed back to think about their situation and what to do about it. He did not think he would be able to fight Kyoko off him without waking her up; he could wake her up, which would probably embarrass the hell out of her; or he could try to go back to sleep and hope that she woke up and let him go. He pondered his choices for a moment. Lory had said that he would clear their schedule, so they could take as long as they wanted. Ren decided to try and go back to sleep.

Ren studied the sleeping face in front of him. He had never looked upon his own face when it was so open and unguarded. He was almost cute. Ren shook his head, how could he think such things about himself. Ren screwed his eyes shut and tried to drive the weird thoughts from his brain. He was interrupted by a soft tinkling noise and opened his eyes to see that the fairy had landed on Kyoko's arm. The little winged girl looked down at him and smiled.

"Good morning." He whispered softly so as not to disturb the person sleeping next to her. The soft tinkle of the fairy's voice fell on his ears as she returned what he believed to be the same greeting. He watched as the little girl stretched in her gossamer dress.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked politely. The girl grinned and nodded her head before pointing to him. Ren pondered this for a moment until he realized that she was asking him the same question.

"Yes, thank you," He smiled. "But it seems that I am stuck for the moment." The fairy looked at him then looked down at Kyoko and laughed. The tiny creature waved her hand at him and stood up on Kyoko's arm. Ren watched in horror as the fairy walked up Kyoko and leaned over to her ear. The soft tinkling of her voice came louder as the little fairy screamed for Kyoko to wake up. The fairy took flight as Kyoko shifted in her sleep, but did not wake up or release her senpai. The fairy looked a little cross that her attempts had not worked and landed back on the side of Kyoko's head.

"Don't wake her." Ren hissed at the little thing, but she ignored him. The girl sleeping in Ren's body had unknowingly posed a challenge to the fairy and she was bound and determined that she would answer it. The fairy messed with the brown hair on Ren's body, braiding it into neat plaits, but Kyoko still did not wake up. Ren hissed for the girl to stop, but the fairy took no notice of his protests. As she was playing in the tall actor's hair, the fairy noticed something in the fine hairs around his ears, roots. She examined the golden base of the hair and looked at the brown farther down its shaft. She placed her hand at the base of the hair and quickly ran it up the length of the hair. The true gold of his hair shot out along the length of the hair and the little fairy squealed in delight. Ren wiggled in Kyoko's arms as he tried to stop the fairy from ruining all of Jelly's hard work, but he was trapped in Kyoko's arms.

"Stop." Ren hissed louder but the fairy ignored him in favor of changing the brown hairs back to gold, she like this color much better than what he had dyed it. Ren gave up trying to keep from waking Kyoko and proceeded to kick her. Kyoko shifted as she pulled from her sleep. The fairy, seeing that Ren was ruining her fun, placed both hand on the side of Kyoko's head and pushed a little bit of magic into it. The brown color exploded off of the hair in a shower of brown dust and the fairy zoomed away laughing. Ren kicked from Kyoko's arms and the entangling blankets as he screamed for the fairy to come back and fix his hair.

Kyoko looked up at Ren standing on the bed screaming at the small fairy flying around his head. He had no idea what had cause his outburst, but he was madder than a wet hen. She tried to reach up to calm him, but he pushed her hands off and turned on her.

"It's your fault!" Kyoko raised her hands between them defending off the outrage. "If you hadn't held on so tight, I could have stopped her!" Ren jumped off the bed and stormed from the room. Kyoko stared after him in shock. What was her fault? What could he have stopped? Kyoko heard the tinkling of the fairy and looked down to the bed to see the thing crumpled on the bed laughing as hard as Yashiro had been yesterday morning. She carefully bent over and lifted the little girl in her hands.

"What did you do?" She asked the fairy. As she moved, she caught a hint of gold out of the corner of her eye and lifted her hand up to see what was there. She gasped as she saw the color of the hair on her head. The fairy lifted off as Kyoko dropped her hands and hurried to get out of the bed. She rushed to the mirror on the back of Ren's bedroom door and stared at the sight it held. If she wasn't absolutely sure that it was her, she would never have recognized the blond haired, blue eyed man staring back at her from the glass. She turned her head back and forth to look at the work the fairy had done. She laughed a little at the tiny braids set in the hair and reached up and carefully pulled them loose. The fairy landed on her head and smiled at Kyoko in the mirror.

"It looks nice, but you really should not have done that." Kyoko explained to the little girl. The fairy cocked her head in question. Kyoko tried to find a way to explain it to the little girl. "His job is based on his looks and if we change it, then it will affect his work." The fairy thought about this for a moment before nodding her understanding. "Can you change it back?" The fairy's wings wilted a little and she shook her head before pointing back to the bed. Kyoko turned to look at the fine brown dust all over the pillow. "Oh, you did not change it you just removed the artificial color." The fairy nodded. "And you can't put it back on can you?" The fairy shook her head. "Oh well, let's just go apologize, ok?" The fairy agreed and Kyoko opened the door to go and make sure Ren was ok.

Ren rested his head into the kitchen table as he waited for the coffee to finish percolating. He played the entire morning over in his mind and banged his head on the wooden surface. How could he do something so stupid? He hadn't meant to yell at Kyoko. What happened was not her fault, but he had blindly raged at her for it anyway. He did not know how he had gotten so out of control. He even went as far as to tell her that she had held on to him in her sleep. He stopped banging his head when the first signs of a headache pressed into the back of his eyes. He rolled his head over so that his cheek was pressed in the cool surface and trained his eyes on the stove where Kyoko cooked for him. He closed his eyes imagined her there stirring a pot or chopping up some unnamed vegetable. A single tear rolled from his eye as the thought slipped away to be replaced by the fear of her unwilling to be near such a terrible man again. As Ren wallowed in his misery, he missed the soft footfalls of Kyoko entering the kitchen.

"Are you ok?" Kyoko asked as she touched the back of her own body draped over the table. Ren gasped as his eyes popped open and he sat up at the unexpected touch. He had expected Kyoko to freak out over him yelling at her, but today she seemed much calmer than usual. Ren looked up at the golden hair and the little fairy nestled into it. His guilt at yelling at the innocent girl outweighed his anger at either of them and he hung his head in shame.

"I am sorry Kyoko-chan." Ren spoke in just over a whisper. "It's not your fault and I did not mean to yell at you like that." Kyoko knelt down so she could talk with her penitent senpai better. Ren looked at the face that was now much closer to him. "I don't know what came over me, I'm just…" Ren searched for the right word, "emotional this morning." It was the only way to describe the fit that he had just thrown. Kyoko smiled and chuckled at him.

"It's ok. I get that way on occasion too." Kyoko pushed up on the chair to stand before turning to the kitchen to start breakfast. Ren looked at her as he thought about how to explain his situation, she did not seem to understand that this was not normal for him.

"That's the thing, I don't." Ren sat his chin on the table as he tried to figure out why the fairy's actions had caused him to be so out of control. "I don't usually blow up like that without a good reason." Yes it was going to be a problem, but he could just get Jelly to recolor it for him, and he did not have anything to do today. The fairy took off from her perch on Kyoko's head and landed on the table in front of Ren. He could see the apology in her eyes as she spoke soft words that he never heard. An amused grin slipped on Ren's face as he forgave the fairy for her fun.

"It's ok." He told the little creature. "We will get it fixed." The little girl stepped up and gave Ren a hug across the face and placed a light kiss on the ridge of his cheek. The weak grin on his face spread a little bit more at the kind gesture.

"Thank you." He whispered softly to the little girl before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. He had never felt so emotionally drained so early in the morning before. Kyoko looked over at the relaxed form at the table. She knew that her senpai was usually more level headed then he had been this morning. When he did get angry at something, he would smolder with a heat that could melt you to the bone, not explode. And she had never seen him go from an emotional high to such a low state in such a short time. It was vaguely familiar. She turned the thought over in her head as she cracked eggs in a bowl to scramble. She usually got that way a day or two before….. Kyoko nearly dropped the egg in her hand as she whipped around to look at her body slouched onto the table. She sent a prayer up to whatever god was listening that the fairy's spell would end soon and they would be returned to their normal bodies. There was no way that she wanted her senpai to go through THAT, especially in her body.


	15. Chapter 15

Here is chapter 15 for you. And yes, I do read all of the reviews I get on my stories. I many not respond to them all, but I DEFINITLY ready them.

Sorry for getting you caught at night **Saizen24**, and yes, Sho does show up...

Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

After breakfast, Ren called Lory to explain the odd situation and request that he call Jelly in to recolor his hair. After a few minutes of phone tag, Lory called him back to tell him that she would be available at two. This left a few hours open for Kyoko and Ren to lay low. Ren thanked his boss and went to help Kyoko with the cleanup of his apartment.

Ren walked into the bedroom to find that Kyoko was still dressed in the night clothing he had given her and was stripping the cased from the pillows to add to the sheets and blankets already pulled from the bed. The fine powered dye that the fairy had removed from his hair was scattered everywhere, but Kyoko was doing her best to contain the dust. He could hear the fine tinkling of the fairy's laughter from where she rode in the hair on Kyoko's head. The creature lay on her stomach and held on to the golden strands as she tried not to fall off the as Kyoko moved around. Ren walked over and started to gather up his sheet to take them to wash.

"I can do that." Kyoko offered as Ren turned with the load.

"That's ok," Ren passed up the offer. "They're are my sheets anyway." Ren started to head out when he tripped over the end of his pant leg where it had come unrolled. He fell face first into the bedding with a plop. Ren flailed free of the sheets screaming out his frustration. "Remind me to get you a decent nightgown to keep here." He bellowed as he yanked the offending hem up from around his foot and twisted it up into place. Kyoko stared at him with an open mouth.

"Why would I need a nightgown here?" She asked and Ren blushed a deep red. He had not meant to say that out loud. His mind spun on an answer that would not make her freak out.

"In case something like this..." Ren started, but stopped, nothing like this was ever going to happen again if he could do anything about it. "I mean… not like THIS this, but if you ever needed to stay over and forgot proper clothing kind of this. That way you..." Ren stopped his words when it hit him that he was rambling on like Kyoko normally did. "I'm turning into you!" He squeaked and realized that this could be offensive to Kyoko. "Not that there is anything wrong with you, I like you…" A blush rushed up Ren's face as that confession slipped from his lips. This was not the way he wanted to tell Kyoko how he felt. Ren screamed out his frustrations again and pushed himself up grabbed the rumpled bedding and stormed out of the room before his scattered brain could get him into more trouble.

Kyoko hid her mouth with her hand so the smile that was threating her would not be seen. She had been shocked by her senpai's suggestion to get her night clothing to keep here, but the rambled excuse did make sense. She had spent many unexpected night here and never had proper clothing to sleep it. She thought he was so cute all flustered and rambling, so unlike her respected senpai. It made her heart happy to hear that he liked her, even if she knew it was only as a friend. Kyoko looked at the stripped bed before casting her eyes around the room to see if there was any hint as to where fresh sheets were kept. Seeing nothing that looked promising, she turned to follow her beloved senpai to ask.

Once the chores were done, the unfortunate couple needed to tend to their personal hygiene. The pair was more familiar with the bodies that they inhabited so getting clean was less of a fiasco then yesterday, and Ren even remembered to show Kyoko how to shave with his nice electric razor. Now that they were washed and dressed, there was still time before they had to leave, so Ren and Kyoko retired to the living room to relax for a little while.

Ren looked overtop the script he was reading to where Kyoko laid on the floor playing with the little fairy. Ren shook his head, his body would never have been in that position if he had been in it. Kyoko rested on her stomach as both legs bent back at the knees with the ankles crossed up in the air. She was supporting her head and shoulders just off the floor by her elbows and her chin sat in the palm of one hand. The other hand was held out so the fairy could hold on to her index finger as she danced lightly around in the sunbeams. Kyoko hummed a catchy tune as her feet bounced happily in the air. Ren sighted as Kyoko giggled when the fairy did pirouettes while holding onto the tip of her finger. He looked at the clock on the cable box and saw that it was about time for them to leave.

"It's time we got ready to go." He called over to his companion and got a resounding ahh of disappointment. Ren set his script on the table and stood up to stretch. He did not know what he had done to make himself so achy, but he figured that it would go away as the day wore on. Kyoko picked the little winged girl up and looked at her.

"Do you want to come with us, or stay here?" The fairy thought about it for a moment then pointed at the potted plant that she had taken to sleeping in. Kyoko took her over and sat her carefully into the leaves. Kyoko fixed a plate with some fruit, honey, and bread on it incase her guest got hungry and followed Ren out the door.

Unable to do anything about it, Ren had decided to let Kyoko go out into the world with his natural blond hair and blue eyes. On an offhanded comment from Kyoko that Ren's natural look reminded her of her pseudo father, Ren decided to throw caution to the wind and suggested that she reprise her roll of Kuon, only older, as the bases for her cover. She was ecstatic about his and spent several minutes rewriting her Kuon's image to fit her new role. Ren even gave Kyoko a pair of old jeans and a shirt that was more Kuon's style then Ren's. Now that she was in her role, Ren's body looked far enough off from normal that no one would recognize him at a glance, and if they spoke to him, Kyoko's personality would be more than enough to throw them completely off. Kyoko added a bag with Ren's contacts and normal clothing to change into after Jelly was done fixing his appearance and they were ready to go. Ren was not sure why he had done this, but it gave them a good cover for his identity and it made her happy; that was all that mattered.

"Now remember Kyoko, you are not Tsuruga Ren, you are Hizuri Kuon, Hizuri Kuu's son visiting from the states to see an old friend of the family." Ren made sure that she was aware of her cover story one more time. He had spent the entire drive to LME schooling Kyoko on how to be an American. When she asked how he knew such things, he just looked at her sideways and shrugged. Kyoko spent the rest of the time he prattled on trying to push the little voice in her head away so that she could concentrate on what he was saying. Anytime his words would subside, her thoughts would return and she would find herself pondering over the little bits of his past that came bubbling up: mixed blood, the son of a famous actor, someplace that did not know him, the fact that he did not know simple things like 'tenteko-mai'. Kyoko gasped as something hit her, maybe Ren was not from Japan at all! Kyoko so wanted to ask him, but she knew this was not the time or place to do so, she needed to concentrate on her role.

Ren and Kyoko stood on the side walk outside of the LME office and braced themselves for the ultimate challenge. Kyoko remembered how Sho had not recognized her after she had changed her hair, so she had confidence that she would be able to make it through the building and into Lory's office without anyone detecting the true identity of the body she was in. Ren took a deep breath and started towards the door and Kyoko followed. The receptionist greeted 'Kyoko' like normal and eyed the handsome man behind her, but did not say anything as Ren led the way through the lobby and deeper into the building. They were just about ready to hit the steps when an annoying voice called out to them.

"Oiy Kyoko!" Kyoko froze up at hearing the voice of her childhood friend. Why the hell was Sho in LME? Ren took a deep breath before he turned to look at the musician closing on them.

"Be pleasant." Kyoko whispered as she also turned to look at the man calling. Ren plastered a fake smile on his face and waited for the singer to stop.

"What are you doing here today, Fuwa-san?" Ren asked as pleasantly as he could through clenched teeth. Sho looked at her and then at the tall blond smiling next to her.

"Why don't you call me Sho-kun like you use to." Show asked crossly. Ren raised his eyebrows as he bit back the response he wanted to give and thought of something that would be more appropriate for mixed company.

"Because it's best to be proper at work." Ren just barely kept the venom from his voice as he tried to keep his anger in check. What was he doing here? "Now what are you doing at LME?" Ren tried for calm, but it was eluding him today. Kyoko looked from Sho to her senpai and back. She could feel Ren's annoyance at the man.

"I was here negotiating a possible joint venture with another talent." Sho smiled smugly at her. "What are you doing here?" Ren gritted his teeth so he would not snap at the idiot in front of him.

"I thought you were smart enough to know that I work here." Ren retorted. Sho glared at him. Kyoko saw that this was going to get out of control very fast.

"Excuse me Mogami-san, we needed to get going." Kyoko tried to distract Ren from the challenging look that Sho was giving him. Ren broke eye contact with Sho and looked up at Kyoko. She cast her eyes to the stairs and back so he would get the hint.

"If you will excuse me, I have work to get to." Ren said curtly and turned to lead his charge up the steps. Sho looked over the blue-eyed blond.

"Who's this Yankee?" Sho sneered at the tall man. "Is he your new boyfriend?" Kyoko opened her mouth to tell the man off, but never got the chance. Ren whipped around and snapped at the offending singer.

"As a matter of fact, he is! Now if you will excuse us," Ren took Kyoko's arm. "We have SOMETHING to do. Good day." Ren turned and dragged a very shocked Kyoko off up the steps, leaving a stunned Sho standing with his mouth hanging open. Ren fumed as he dragged Kyoko off down the hall. "That man pisses me off." Ren muttered as he stopped in front of the elevator that would take them farther upstairs.

"Why did you say that?" Kyoko asked. Ren turned to look at his companion and his anger melted away at the look of surprise and fear missed together in her eyes. What he had just said and implied hit Ren like a ton of bricks.

"OH God, Kyoko, I'm sorry." Ren apologized for the trouble he had caused her. "I just snapped and that was the first thing that popped into my head." The elevator doors opened and the pair stepped into the little metal box. Ren pressed his head into the cool wall as Kyoko chose the floor. The cold helped to alleviate the headache that Ren had not noticed form. Kyoko looked over at her suffering senpai, she was now sure about what was going on with him. There was no other explanation for his short temper and irritability.

The doors opened and Kyoko led the way out of the elevator. Ren followed but stopped as he looked around the hall.

"This is the wrong floor." Ren called to the form leading him down the hall.

"I know, but there is something in the LoveMe locker room that you need." Kyoko called back to her compainion and continued walking. Ren picked up his feet and followed her. Kyoko opened the door and let Ren into the room. He watched as Kyoko opened up her locker and pulled two tablets from a bottle to hand to Ren.

"What are these?" He asked as he studied the little blue football shaped pills.

"Midol." Kyoko said as she got a bottle of water from her locker and handed it over so he could take the tablets. "It will help with your headache." Kyoko explained.

"How did you know I had a headache?" Ren asked as he opened the bottle. He popped the pills in his mouth and washed them down.

"Because, I usually get crabby when I get a headache." Kyoko was not about to tell him that she thought he was going through PMS. She prayed again that the fairy's spell would break soon.

"I'm not crabby!" Ren snapped at her. Kyoko raised an eyebrow and cocked her head as if to point out his snappiness. Ren glared at her before he was forced to concede the point.

"Ok, maybe I am a little irritable today." Ren huffed and crossed his arms. Kyoko wanted to point out that he was more the a little irritable, but that would not be a good thing to do at the moment. She was use to her emotions going out of control once a month, but she was sure Ren had no idea how to handle it.

"I really am sorry about yelling at Fuwa like that." Ren hung his head. He could not thing of anything he could do to set the problem right.

"It's ok." Kyoko tried to comfort Ren. "That Baka should learn to keep his nose out of other people's business." Ren smiled weakly at his kohai. Kyoko chuckled and the pair turned to go get Jelly to fix the work the fairy had done.

**Author's Note:** I still feel that Ren and Kyoko are a little OOC in this chapter, but It just worked so well i left it. I hope you enjoyed it.


	16. Chapter 16

Yays, more fun in other people's bodies. I was going to write some more on this chapter but I have a splitting headache, so her you go. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

Ren and Kyoko walked into Lory's office to find that the man had erected a Buddhist temple complete with a series of torii arches leading to his seating area. Lory had a bald cap covering his hair and the bright orange robes of a monk wrapped around him. His eyes widened when they fell on Kyoko dressed so much like Kuon had when he first arrived in Japan. Lory stared in shock as his favorite project pair approached. He was expecting Ren to have wrapped Kyoko up so no one would see his real appearance, not parade her around.

"Does she know?" Lory asked Ren.

"Some, not all." Ren shrugged.

"Alright," Lory changed the subject. "Jelly is waiting in the same room as last time." Kyoko nodded her head and turned to go have her appearance corrected. Ren stood and watched his body walk away from him. "I was not expecting that." Lory's eyes never left the blond hair as Kyoko walked away.

"Best disguise I have ever had." Ren smiled as he thought about it. Now that Kyoko knew about his true look, they might be able to use that to get out and do things without getting mobbed. Lory chuckled. "It will be a while till they are done, I'm going to go check in with Yashiro and see if he has anything new for me." Ren looked up at his friend. "At least I can get that much done as I am."

"I will let her know where you went." Lory nodded and Ren left to find his manager.

Ren mused over his morning as he made his way through the building. The strange achiness had gone away after Kyoko had given him those pills. He drowned himself in his own thoughts as he walked and he started when a loud voice accosted his ears.

"KYOKO!" Ren jerked his head up to see a familiar glaring pink jumpsuit wrapped around a tall dark beauty bearing down on him. Ren looked around to see if anyone was there to hear him. When he verified no one was around he held up his hand in front of him with his fingers spread, like it could stop the onslaught from Kyoko's best friend.

"I'm not Kyoko, I'm still Ren Kotonami-san." Ren actually took a step back from the fierce glare coming from the teen. Kanae grabbed one of his outstretched wrists.

"I don't care if you're the Queen of England!" Kanae growled as she turned and dragged the shocked actor behind her. "Kyoko was supposed to help me clean out that MAN's prop room. And there is no way in hell that I am going in there by myself." Kanae pulled Ren through the door to the LoveMe locker room and yanked Kyoko locker open. "Since you stole Kyoko's body, you get to be Kyoko today!" Ren could not get away from the crazy teen's vice like grip as she forced him to her will. Ren could see her point and gave in with a sigh, it was his fault, kind of, and it would be wrong to leave the poor teen to such a massive job by herself. He nodded his agreement and Kanae pulled something out of Kyoko's locker and shoved it at him. "Put. It. On." Ren took the horrible item and looked by at the actress. He could see the light of joy in her eyes as she tortured him.

Kyoko knocked on Yashiro's open door so that she would not startle the man bent over his deck. Yashiro looked up from his computer and looked at the tall man standing so politely in his doorway.

"Kyoko-chan?" He asked. Ren would never have knocked like that; he would have let himself in and sat in the armchair like normal. Kyoko nodded and stepped into the room and looked around. The brow furrowed as she did not see the person she was looking for.

"I came to find Tsuruga-san." Kyoko explained. "Takarada- san said he came down here to see about his work." Worry filled Yashiro's eyes as he listened to Kyoko.

"I've not seen him today." Yashiro pushed away from his desk and pulled out his phone to call Ren. It rang several times and went to voice mail. The concern in Yashiro's eyes deepened as he tried again. "Maybe he went to get your offers?" Yashiro suggested the only other thing that he could think of.

"Then we had better find him." Worry filled Kyoko's voice as she turned to go check with Sawara. Yashiro pushed away from his desk and followed the 'girl' out of the door. He didn't know how much trouble Ren could get into as Kyoko, but it would be best if they found him quickly. Kyoko pushed the door to the talent room open and closed on Sawara's desk. He looked up at the unexpected arrive of LME's top actor and his manager.

"What can I do for you Tsuruga-san." Sawara asked. Kyoko looked down at him.

"Have you seen me…. I mean Mogami-san today?" Kyoko asked, almost forgetting herself in her concern. Sawara looked up at him in concern.

"No," he answered, "Lory told me to clear her schedule through tomorrow. But she was supposed to be helping Kotonami-san on some LoveMe project for Takarada-san today." Realization hit Kyoko, they were supposed to do THAT today!

"Thank you." Kyoko bowed to Sawara and headed for the door. She worried about her senpai as she made her way to the bowels of LME with Yashiro in tow. If he had run into Moko-san, Ren could be in real trouble.

"Where are we going?" Yashiro asked as they practically ran down another flight of steps into an area that Yashiro had never been. He and Ren had been all over the upper floors of the LME building, but when it came to the many basements, there was never a need to go down there. Kyoko did not answer as she turned a corner and led the way down a hall to a large set of double doors that were propped open.

"Where does this go?" Yashiro recognized Kyoko's voice coming from the storage room.

"I don't know," Kanae snapped back, "What is it?" Kyoko and Yashiro walked into room to see Kanae looking over at Ren, dressed in Kyoko's pink jumpsuit, holding up something made of feathers.

"A hat, I think." Ren popped the elaborate headdress on his head and did his best impression of Lory. "How do I look?" Kanae giggled as she pulled another hat out of the shelves. He settled this dragon headdress on her head and pulled her hand up regally across her chest. "Not as good as I do." He imitated Lory's voice and they both broke down in giggles. Yashiro and Kyoko stood between the shelves where they had not been noticed and tried not to die laughing. At the sound of the male laughter, the two 'girls' in the room turned to look at Yashiro and Kyoko standing in the main aisle and they both blushed bright red at being discovered.

"Mo!" Kanae stamped her foot as she tore the hat from her head. "Why didn't you announce your arrival!" She jammed the dragon head back onto the shelf with the rest of the robes before turning deeper into the room.

"Sorry Moko-san." Kyoko bounced over to her best friend. "We really just arrived." Yashiro's eyes widened as he watched 'Ren' act so out of character. Kanae crossed her arms over her chest and acted mad at her best friend. It felt weird to have the tall actor making those puppy dog eyes at her.

"It's alright." Kanae finally gave in and Kyoko squealed in delight before glomping her like normal. Only now, Kanae was not fast enough to move away or strong enough to fend her off. Kanae blushed hard as she ended up squished in the arms of the man she knew liked her best friend. She had pulled her hands up to stop the attack and they pressed into the solid muscles of the body her friend was currently using. Kanae could not help but think about how well build the man was. Ren stared wide eyed at the sight and turned to see Yashiro with his phone out.

"You had better not be taking pictures." Ren hissed as Yashiro pocketed his phone quickly.

"Of course not." Yashiro looked up at the ceiling trying to look innocent. Ren hung his head and shook it.

"You are not helping." Ren sighed as Yashiro giggled. The manager stepped closer to his charge.

"It would have been better if it were Kyoko in your arms." Yashiro smiled deviously. Ren glowered at him and sighed. He could not argue with the man. He also thought it would be better if Kyoko was in his arms like that. Kyoko finally released her friend and Kanae stepped back.

"Don't do that." She hissed at her friend. "It's…." She looked up and down the body that Kyoko was in and blushed, "weird." Kyoko apologized to her friend again.

"Now that you're here, you can help up with this." Kanae informed Kyoko. "We could use some MEN to help us move some of these bigger things." Kanae pointed to a full sized Chinese dragon costume that would need six people to man it.

"I have work of my own to do." Yashiro held up his hand and backed away from the task. "I only came to make sure Ren was ok."

"Traitor." Ren yelled at his retreating manager. He laughed at Ren's plight and disappeared through the door and back to the safety of his office to finish his paperwork. Kanae turned to look at the only other 'man' in the room and Kyoko looked down at the nice outfit that she was wearing.

"But I'll get dirty." Kanae stomped her foot again at Kyoko's protest. She was not going to let Kyoko off that easily. If she had to do this horrible job, then she wouldd bring as many people with her as possible,

"Then go ask THAT MAN if he has other clothes that you can work in. I am sure he has something about." Kanae waved to the many shelves of random objects that they were going to have to go through. Kyoko nodded and left to get something to change into, if nothing else, she has the jeans and shirt in which she had started the day.

**Author's note:** I know that I have not addressed many of the testosterone based problems with Kyoko. I know Ren has been denying himself such pleasures as a woman's company for a long time, but I am sure that he has found other ways to relieve himself, so he should not be that frustrated physical. And I think the fact that men think about sex every 5 seconds is not fully due to their physical bodies, but more based in the psyches. I just can't see Kyoko, who is so resistant to all forms of romantic and physical love, getting turned on by a passing girl, or guys. The only one she really has eyes for is Ren, and he is in her body. I just find it hard to think that she would find her own body arousing, except for when she was learning to model and I might have passed up the chance for some limey stuff there. Sorry. And the 'morning wood' thing was over shadowed by a rude awakening and an uncharacteristic Ren. There will be more awkward moments for our unfortunate couple. I hope you enjoy it.


	17. Chapter 17

Hello again, Sorry I missed a day, but with the pain still sitting behind my eyes and work, I could not sit behind my computer long enough to get a chapter done. Still upset with myself for missing a day. I hope you enjoy

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!**

"Are you sure there is nothing else I can wear?" Kyoko looked at the clothing Lory had produced for her. She had no problem with the outfit, but she was sure Ren was going to have a hissy when she came down to help.

"You are part of the LoveMe section, so it is only right that you wear the proper uniform." Lory grinned. Kyoko let out a sigh and went to put on the blazing pink jumpsuit before heading back down to the cellar to help with the cleaning. Why in the world did Lory have one of these in Ren's size? Kyoko carefully snuck her way through the halls and hid anytime that she saw anyone coming. It would not do to let her respected senpai be seen in something so horrendous. When she finally made it to the basement, she stood outside the door and debated going inside. She did not want to embarrass Ren, but she knew that Kanae would be mad if she did not come back to help out. Kyoko finally drew up her nerve and stepped into the storage room where her friends were.

"So tell me the truth, what intentions do you have towards Kyoko-chan?" Kyoko froze when she heard Kanae's voice.

"I don't know what you mean." Kyoko recognized her voice respond to her best friend's question.

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Kanae hissed at her companion. "I know how handsome men are, and don't think I will stand by and let you hurt her. She has been through enough heartache due to that baka singer." Kyoko held her breath as she listened to the conversation.

"Don't even compare me to that shit head." Kyoko's eyes widened as she heard her respected senpai use words that she never dreamed he would. "He pisses me off to know end." Kanae laughed at Ren's words.

"But you have to thank him." Kanae responded with a bit of disgust in the voice. Kyoko's mouth fell open that her best friend would say such a thing.

"How so?" The disgust was even thicker in Ren's voice. Kyoko nodded her agreement to the shelf that was between her and the pair.

"If he had not brought her here and dumped her, we would never have met her." Kanae explained her thoughts. There was a very pregnant pause as Ren thought this over.

"You have a point." Ren finally answered. Kyoko was surprised at how calmly he had taken this news.

"Now answer the question. What intentions do you have towards Kyoko-chan?" Kanae steered the conversation back to the original topic, Kyoko leaned closer so that she could hear what Ren's answer would be. She was sure that she knew he would answer that he had no intentions towards her other than professional, but her heart wished he would say something else.

Ren opened his mouth to tell Kanae that he intended to woo the girl and marry her, but he stopped when a loud crash came from the next isle over. Kanae and Ren looked at each other before dropping what they were holding and raced around the corner to see what had cause the cacophony. Two sets of eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of Ren's body, dressed in a shockingly pink LoveMe uniform, sprawled on the floor where Kyoko had unwittingly bumped a suit of medieval armor off the shelf as she was trying to eavesdrop on her friends. Ren's face went fire red as he realized that the only way she would have managed to knock the plate mail down was if she had been leaning against the shelves.

"Where in HELL did you get that THING!" The shock at seeing her was quickly replaced with anger as he took in the outfit that Lory had given her to wear. "There is NO WAY you are going to be seen in public in THAT!" Ren walked over to her and started pulling on the top of the jump suit. "Take it off NOW!" he bellowed as he tried to strip the offensive outfit off of Kyoko. He was going to beat that man into pulp as soon as he saw him again. Kyoko grabbed Ren's hands to stop him from pulling on her clothing.

"Calm down." She cried as she pulled Ren around and trapped him in her arms so he was sitting in her lap facing away from her. Ren struggled in her grip for a moment before stilling. He could see that it was no use to fight her, she was much stronger then he was now. He fumed for a moment before freezing in her arms as he realized what he had just done.

"I just did it again, didn't I?" Ren slouched over the arms that were still holding him tight. "I am sorry, I don't know what happened, I just lost it." He could not understand why he could not keep his emotions in check today.

"You're about as stable as my sister is just before she starts." Kanae chuckled at the repentant actor. Ren could feel Kyoko still behind him and he thought over the words that the dark haired teen had said. Ren's mind turned as he put all of the pieces together, the strange achiness deep inside, the irritability, the mood swings, and the little blue pills that Kyoko had given him. The epiphany struck and Ren cocked his head to look at Kyoko behind him out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you about to start your period?" He asked her softly hoping he was wrong. Kyoko closed her eyes and nodded her head slightly confirming his worst fears. "Great JUST GREAT!" Ren pushed from Kyoko's arms to pace around the room fuming. As if being in someone else's body wasn't bad enough, he got to experience it at the worst most possible time.

"I'm sorry." Kyoko apologized to him, but Kanae huffed at her.

"Don't apologize to him." Kanae glared at the man inhabiting her friend's body. "We live through this once a month, one time isn't going to kill him." Ren glared back and opened his mouth to say something sharp back to her, but shut it again. Now that he knew why he was irritable, he was bound and determined to regain his self-control.

"You have a point." He answered instead and turned to go back to the job that he was doing. He was not going to give Kyoko's best friend the satisfaction of listening to him whine about bad timing. He was, after all, a man and women did this thing every 28 days. "Let's just get this done so we can go home." Kyoko and Kanae were surprised that Ren had taken the news so easily and they picked themselves up to go follow him back to the sections they were cleaning.

"I am sorry about the jumpsuit." Kyoko apologized to Ren as she helped him reach the items on the top shelf. "Takarada-san said since this was a LoveMe assignment, that I had be dress in the LoveMe uniform." Ren sighed at her gullibility and Kyoko went on. "I took special care not to be seen on the way down." Ren was glad that his kohai was so considerate; he feared to think what the headlines would say if pictures of him in that god-awful thing got out to the tabloids.

"It's alright Kyoko-chan." He reassured her. He could not stay mad at her for something that was clearly the president's doing, but he was going to give that man a piece of his mind the next time they were alone.

The three actors worked for a long time clearing out the junk that Lory had accumulated. Ren watched Kyoko closely as she interacted with her best friend. At one point, Kanae slipped from the stool as she was trying to get a rather bulky bag from the shelf, but Kyoko was quick to save her friend from a painful landing and a spike of jealousy shot through Ren at seeing the brunette in Kyoko's arms. Ren shook the irrational feeling away as best he could. It was an odd feeling to have at the sight of his own body holding the attractive teen. He could not tell if it was his own feeling, or a conditioned response the body he was in had? Kyoko and Kanae had both blushed awkwardly and set about picking up the bag of fake coconuts that had spilled on to the floor.

When they were finished with the isle that they were picked for today's cleaning session, the three friends started towards the LoveMe locker room to get changed back into real clothing. As they walked, they chatted about all of the strange things they had seen in the storage room. Ren paused as he saw a familiar flash of light and he turned to see the camera man of a local paper adjusting his lens to get a better picture of the three actors. He looked at Kyoko and realized that they had grown accustomed to the horrendously pink jumpsuit she was wearing and had walked into the main lobby without a second thought.

"This way." Ren grabbed Kyoko's arm and pulled her into the first hallway he could get in. There were a few more flashed as the photographer tried to catch their escape. Kanae followed their retreat snickering as she realized what just happened. Ren was sure that his reputation could handle the odd outfit, but it was still embarrassing, and he could hear the teasing coming from his manager already. The hall that Ren had chosen took them twice as far as the path they had been taking did, but it got them away from the man with the camera. Unfortunately they would have to pass through several other halls and the café before they could reach the safety of the LoveMe locker room. By the time the door closed behind Kanae's back both Ren and Kyoko were bright red and out of breath. Kanae fell over onto the sofa laughing at Ren's predicament. He glared at the laughing girl and went to change out of the jumpsuit and back into his own clothing.

Kanae sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to gather her clothing so that she could take it to home with her. There was no way she was going to change in here today, it would be too weird. She was used to seeing Kyoko change, but the male presences in the room made it impossible for her to strip off her coveralls, even if the male had her best friends mind. Kanae turned around and blushed hard at the sight that accosted her eyes. Kyoko had absentmindedly started to strip so that she could get back into the normal clothing Ren would wear.

"What do you think you're doing!" Kanae turned quickly to face the wall away from the partially naked male body standing next to Kyoko's locker. Kyoko stopped and looked down at the shirt she had just pulled off not understanding what the problem was. The top of the pink coveralls hung behind her still held in place at her waist. The top of the dark boxer short she was wearing peeked out over the folds of brightly colored material. Kanae tried to scrub the image of those toned pecs and washboard abs from where it had been burnt into her mind. How could she possible think about that man like that! This was the person that her best friend like, even if she would not admit it to herself. Kanae squished her eyes shut and ran from the room before Kyoko could apologize for the blunder she just realized she had made. Ren's hand on her arm stopped Kyoko from running after her friend and causing them both even more embarrassment.

"I am so sorry!" Kyoko wailed as she sat down on a seat topless. "I wasn't even thinking." Ren chuckled to himself. It was nice that she had finally become comfortable in his body, now if she could just keep that feeling after they switched back.

"I am sure you will have the chance to apologize to Kotonami-san later." Ren turned his attention to the locker and pulled out Kyoko's normal clothing. "And I am sure she will get over it." Kyoko nodded weakly. There was nothing that they could do about it at the moment. She promised herself that she would take her friend out for ice cream later. Kyoko slipped the rest of the way out of the coveralls and pulled Ren's normal clothing on. The couple had just finished changing to go home when Lory pushed into the room.

"Kyoko, there's a problem." Lory seemed agitated about something. "The talent that I got to cover your gig tonight fell down and will not be able to do the job?" Concern for the actor crossed her face as she listened to Lory speak. "So can you to help Ren cover it. The show starts in 10 minutes and I can't find anyone to take the position on such short notice." Horror filled Kyoko as she realized what Lory wanted her to do, or at least Ren to do.

"There has got to be someone else that can do it." Kyoko freaked out. "ANYONE else!" Ren looked on in confusion, what did she do that was so bad.

"If it is something that can be subbed out, I can do it." Ren volunteered

"NOOOOOOO!" Kyoko shrieked, she would die if Lory made her take Ren to do THAT.

"It's not a problem Kyoko-chan." He had no idea why she would be so upset about having him do her job for her. "You covered my modeling job, so it's no big deal for me to cover your normal work."


	18. Chapter 18

I still feel bad about skipping a day and the two shorter chapters, so here is an extra-long one for your enjoyment. You are all right, Ren gets to play Bo! I guess I am just predictable. Oh well… I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**Note I do not own Skip Beat!.**

Kyoko led Ren into the studio for the filming of "Kimagure Rock" in silence. She had not explained what he was going to be doing, but if it was something that anyone could sub out, then it could not be that hard. It had taken Ren scolding Kyoko about how unprofessional she was being for her to relent to Lory's request. Ren kept pondering how bad the job was going to be. It's couldn't be as hard as cleaning out Lory's prop room, and the president would not expose his favorite LoveMe member to anything that was immoral. Several people waved to Ren as he followed Kyoko into the back of the studio, she looked as if she was walking to her execution. She opened one half of a double door and held it open for Ren to enter. His eyes swung around the prop room for the talk show but stopped when they fell on a familiar form setting on a cloth waiting for someone to inhabit it.

Someone had decked the chicken out in a red cape and mask with a neon green spandex suit covering most of the body. There was a large silhouette of a chicken on a circle on the stomach. The cocks comb was slicked back into a dramatic wave giving the costume a very heroic feel. One of the guests on the show was the star of a comic book movie that was going to be released in the next few weeks. Ren stared at the costume and could feel Kyoko withering behind him before he even turned around to talk to her. He pulled out his professional smile to cover the shock and anger seething inside of him. Now that he knew his temper was shortened, he was going to do his best to not let it go again.

Kyoko cowered behind Ren as she felt him slip into professional mode. Her grudges swarmed from her to bask in the glow that was radiating from her senpai as he turned and shot her an award winning smile. She would rather have dealt with the uncharacteristic outburst he had been having all day then be faced with that lying smile. All of Kyoko's grudges flew out as she dropped to the floor in a full dogeze bow as she begged his forgiveness. Ren looked down on his body folded so neatly on the floor.

"Get up Kyoko. This is not the time or place to have this conversation." Ren spoke in a sweet tone that lifted Kyoko to her feet in terror. "We will talk about this when we get back to the apartment this evening." Ren was livid, but there was still a job to be done and not a lot of time to get ready. He closed on the costume and Kyoko came to help him get into it. Ren took a deep breath to help him calm down. He kind of understood why Kyoko had not told him about her role as Bo. He had told this chicken many things that he had not given away to other. He practically told her that he loved her. As Kyoko helped him dress, his mind wandered back over the few times that he had sat to talk with the Bo. Now that he knew it was Kyoko, he could see her personality showing through the feathers, the excitability, the teasing, the laughter, and the caring. He could not believe it was the love resistant teen that had shown him his true feeling for her. He sighed as each thought passed through his mind.

Kyoko listened to Ren as she helped pulled the chicken around him. Every sigh made her twitch, she was sure that Ren was going to tear her up as soon as they got to someplace more privet. When he got his body back, she would be cast out of his life forever. Kyoko bit her lip and forced the tears threating her eyes back inside, it would not do to have people see Ren bawling in the stock room.

"Do you need any help Kyoko-chan? We need you soon." Once of the stage hands poked her head into the room and stopped when she saw the tall actor helping the orange haired girl. She blushed as she recognized Japan's top actor. "I didn't know you have company. You're need in five." The stage hand apologized and back out of the room and ran to tell her friend about Kyoko's help. Ren and Kyoko watched the girl close the door and Ren sighed again. Kyoko stood petrified that she had let Ren get seen by that stage hand, she had a very bad habit of blowing things out of proportion and would have the entire set bubbling with the rumors that the two actors were dating or worse, having an affair.

"If anyone asks you what is going on, because I am sure they will, just tell them you brought me over from another job." Kyoko thought up the first thing that she could to cover their situation. Ren was not surprised when Kyoko came up with a cover for why 'Ren' was in the prop room helping 'her' get dressed, but it still hurt his heart. Ren sighed deeply again and nodded his head. Kyoko handed him Bo's head and started to give him instructions on how to play Bo.

"I know Bo." Ren confessed. "I watch Kimagure Rock when I can catch it." Kyoko was taken aback by his words. She did not think that he would watch that type of show. Ren could not miss the shock expression on her face. "I like to watch the chicken." Ren admitted in a quiet voice that made Kyoko blush even harder. Ren cleared his throat to break the tension that had built between them and stood up taller. "Why don't you get out of here so that we don't spread anymore rumor." Ren suggested, he did not want to cause her problems later. This was, after all, her job. "I will call you when this is over." Kyoko agreed and decided to go find an empty room to spend her last few hours of life in, because she was sure she was dead as soon as Ren got out of that costume. Ren pulled Bo's head on and waddled his way towards the stage area.

"Hey Kyoko-chan." Ren was pulled from his musing on how Kyoko had kept this a secret for so long by the sound of a male's voice. He looked out of his costume to see the three host of the show had joined him in walking to the stage. The shortest one had spoken to him. Ren fished in his memory and found that all three hosts had the same last name of Ishibashis, so it would be best to address them by that name.

"Good evening Ishibashis-san." Ren answered in his best impression of polite Kyoko he could get. The three hosts stopped and stared at him as he realized that he had made an error.

"Are you alright Kyoko-chan?" the shortest of the three boys asked again. Ren groaned to himself, of course she would be on first name basis with the boys if she worked with them for as long as she had played Bo. It seemed Ren was the only one she refused to allow any informality with. Ren was glad that he had the head of the costume on so that they could not see the face he had made. "We heard you were not feeling well. Are you better now?" Hikaru continued. Ren could hear the concern in the young man's voice.

"I'm fine." Ren chose to leave the man's name off not wanting to repeat the same mistake twice. "I am just not feeling like myself today, but I will do my best" Ren had to smile at his own inside joke. The three band mates looked at Ren warily for a moment before continuing to the stage.

"Just let us know if you need anything." Shin'ichi patted Ren on the shoulder before heading out to get ready for their entrance.

"What are you doing back here Kyoko!" Ren spun on hearing the angry voice. "You're supposed to be getting ready to open the show." Ren spied the director glaring at him. He was not sure how he was supposed to open the show. He knew it was Bo's job to warm up the crowd and get their attention before the main cast came on, but his entrance changed every show. Ren tried to think like Kyoko would to come up with an entrance, but nothing came to him. "Get to your spot. And don't screw it up!" The director yelled at him and pointed to a stage hand waiting for him by the curtain. Ren's heart beat wildly as he realized that he had no idea what he was doing. His feet squeaked his doom as he scurried over to the stage hand waiting to let him out.

"Evening Kyoko-chan. Glad to see that your better." The girl spoke softly to him and peeked around the curtain. "We have just a few minutes so listen carefully. Today Bo is the 'Masked Chicken' so we have Koi playing a villain." The woman went on for a few more minutes outlining what the opening skit would be and Ren let out a deep sigh of relief. "Then you stick him in the cage and Miki and I will come out and cart him off the stage. Then it the intro like normal. Got that." Ren nodded his head. He loved to watch Bo's antics and he knew how the bird behaved, so now that he knew what was going on he would have no problem being the mascot for the evening.

The stage hand peaked out the curtain to see if they were ready for the 'Masked Chicken' to make his appearance and saw that they still had a little time.

"I heard that you and Tusuruga Ren were going out." Ren was flabbergasted at how fast the chance encounter with the stage hand had escalated their relationship from helping to put on a costume to dating.

"N-n-no." Ren stuttered in his shock. "He dropped me off and was helping me get into my costume." The girl nodded.

"I figured it was something more innocent then what Aki-chan was claiming." The girl shook her head. "To listen to her talk, one would think he had you pressed up against the wall having his way with you." Ren's eyes widened as the woman spoke. He only wished he was able to do that to Kyoko, but he would never choose a stockroom at her work to do it. _'Well maybe if it was just kissing._' Ren shook the thought away before it could hook itself into his brain. He had a job to do and fantasizing about the girl whose body he was in would not make his task easier. There would be plenty of time to do that when he got his own body back. "I will go pop a hole in the rest of the grip's speculations. Sorry about that Kyoko."

"Thank you." Ren whispered, he was glad that someone would squash the crazy ideas before they got out of the studio. It would make both of their lives easier.

"It's time." The woman pulled the curtain apart so Ren would not drag it with him when he made his entrance. "Break a leg."

On the girl's cue Ren bunched himself up and rushed through the split in the material to a loud fanfare announcing the arrival of the hero. The crowd cheered madly for the shows mascot as he struck a dramatic pose with his feet apart and his wings on his hips. Ren made Bo raise one wing above his eyes to shield it from the glare of the overhead light and exaggerated leaning into his gaze as he scanned the audience for the stage hand that was playing the villain. He spotted Koi decked out in a black bandit suit 'hiding' in the crowd. Ren knew about where he was, and almost laughed out loud when his eyes landed on the ridiculous costume among the normal people.

Ren jumped in place and struck another dramatic pose as he shifted the elbow on the wing on his hip back, took a more striding position and pointed to the bad guy in the audience. Koi took this as his cue to hop up and rush his way to the stage so that he could escape. Bo's feet squeaked as Ren scurried forward flapping his wings as he went to apprehend the criminal. Koi hid behind one of the couched and peeked over as Ren stopped the chicken in the middle of the set and struck the same searching pose as before while the audience screamed for Bo to turn around. Koi came up to stand directly behind the giant chicken and moved to stay behind him as Ren exaggerated the twist looking around the room. Bo's fans screamed and cheered the chicken on until Ren turned suddenly and was face to face with Koi in the black costume. Ren lung at the man and Koi backed up to taunt the chicken again. Ren flapped wildly as he chased him across the stage to the soft squeaking of the chicken's feet and the thunderous roar of the happy crowd. Koi let himself be caught on the other side of the stage and struggled as Ren pulled him back to the cage that had been set out for them. About halfway back, Ren pulled Koi into the large wings to the costume so he could get him into the cage.

Koi struggled weakly as he was supposed to, but he stepped on the large foot of the poultry and tripped. Ren tried to stop the man, but the bulky costume caused him to get off balance in the unfamiliar body and they both went down. Ren twisted instinctively and the man fell on top of Ren driving the air out of him. The soft padding of the body saved him from further hurt and Ren struggled to his feet without releasing his captive, because that it what a super hero chicken would do. Koi helped as much as possible, but he was still playing the bad guy it would look bad if the villain helped the hero up. Once on his feet, Ren dragged the man in black over and shoved him in the cage and he struck a triumphant pose as the two stage hands came out and wheeled the criminal away. Ren pointed himself towards the side slightly and someone started a large fan that forced the cape to flap in the breeze behind him. Once the roaring from the crowd died down Ren made his way over to the entry way as the announcer introduced the Ishibashis Brothers. They patted the chicken and congratulated him on his capture before taking over the stage for the main part of the show. Ren slipped behind the curtain and pulled his head off.

"Nice job." A different stage hand greeted him and pulled him farther backstage. Koi came over as soon as he saw Bo step from the stage area.

"I am so sorry, Kyoko-chan." Koi bowed to Ren slightly. "Are you ok?" Ren's ribs hurt a little, but he was mostly ok.

"I'm fine." Ren reassured the worried man. "Nothing's hurt." Koi breathed a sigh of relief before speaking again.

"Good." He held out a sign board for Ren to take. "They are going to be waiting for you soon." Ren was not sure what the man was talking about until he looked at the board and saw an introduction written on it. Ren remembered that it was Bo that brought the guests out. Ren popped his head back on and took up the board to go retrieve the stars from their dressing room.

Ren spent the rest of the night running the little errands that were Bo's job. He only got a little lost in the backstage area before he found the dressing rooms, but the stage hands were quick to set him right with only a slightly raised eyebrow. Ren found himself back out on stage several times by bringing the guests out or delivering props that would signal the start of the next segment of the show. Everyone was really helpful in making sure that Ren got what he needed and was on mark when he had to go on stage. It was common knowledge that Kyoko was in replacing her sub tonight, it had been hard to miss the emergency crew that had taken the unfortunate girl that had fallen away, so the crew figured she was not feeling well and did their best to help Kyoko out when they could. Ren appreciated the extra care they were showing 'Kyoko' today.

"It's time for the final skit before the ending song." The same stage hand spoke to Ren softly from where they watched on stage for Bo's cue. Koi, now dressed in the black and white strips of an convict, was going to sneak out on stage and take one of the Ishibashis brothers as a hostage. Bo was going to go out and save the musician from the escaped man. The crowed called out a warning as Koi slipped up and pulled the oldest and smallest of the musicians from the seating. The boys were expecting this, but weren't expecting Koi to sling Hikaru up onto his shoulder to carry him away. The stage hand signaled Ren and Bo rushed out on squeaky feet to the wild calls of the audience. Ren bounced back and forth in the path of the kidnapper so that he could not escape with the leader of the band until Koi dropped the man on his feet and shoved him lightly into the open wings of Bo. Ren caught him and tucked him protectively into his wing so that he would not get hurt. Hikaru blushed madly at being pressed into the side of the girl that he liked, yes there was a chicken suit in the way, but it was still Kyoko in there. The pair shifted back and forth in front of Koi one more time before Ren released a slightly reddened Hikaru. Ren paused long enough to make sure the small man could stand on his own before lunging at the villain and tackling him to the ground. This fall was written in so Koi was able to get to the ground on his stomach without getting hurt. Ren stood up and placed on big chicken foot into the fallen man's back and crossed his wings triumphantly over his chest as they pointed the fan at him again to make the cape flutter. Two stage hands dressed as cops came out and pulled Koi back stage as if he had been knocked out by the 'Masked Chicken'. Ren returned the kidnapped man to his friend and everyone cheered for the savior of the day.

"Thank you 'Masked Chicken'." Hikaru bowed to Ren, who flourished his cape and disappeared off stage as super heroes are known to do. Ren went back to the prop room to shed his chicken persona. That suit was extremely hot and Bo would not be needed as they brought the show to an end. He received a glower from the director along with a disgruntled 'good job'. Ren pondered what Kyoko could have done to that man to get him to hate her so much. He received several other congratulations as he walked past. He raised his wing limply in acknowledgement, he was exhausted and he just wanted to sit down and relax before going and finding Kyoko. Ren's feet stilled as his mind turned to the girl he loved. He was not looking forward to the conversation he was going to have to have with her. He picked his feet up and squeaked his way to the prop room and struggled out the costume. He had just sat it back on the cloth when the three hosts from the show came in to check on 'Kyoko'

"Nice job tonight." The tall brunette said as he came over and started to help Ren wrap the suit up in the cloth. Ren recognized him as the Shin'ichi and the same man that had patted him on the back before the show had started. The spikey blond boy came over and helped his band mate take the bundled chicken up and place it on the cart to go back to wardrobe.

"We thought you were not going to be here today." Yusei said as the boys stabilized the bundle on the cart. Ren tried to think of a plausible reason that Kyoko would not have been there.

"I have a bit of the stomach flu." Ren pulled something that would keep the girl down for a few days as he rubbed his stomach. He got the idea from the comfortableness he was feeling in his gut. Hikaru stepped closer to Ren and the three boys started to escort her to the prop room with the cart.

"I am sorry to hear that." Ren could hear the concern in the oldest man's voice. "I know where there is a nice place that makes some soup that is easy to digest, it you would care to join me." Ren was shocked to hear the man so blandly asking Kyoko out. He could see from the look on his face that he cared deeply for the short actress. Jealousy shot through Ren and he was torn between telling the man she already had a date for tonight (forever is Ren had his way) or just politely refusing on the grounds that she was sick. He also wondered how many times this man had made a pass at Kyoko and if she did ever go out with him.

"I'm sorry. I don't think my stomach would handle it right now." Ren chose the way that would keep Kyoko in good favor with her coworkers. He could deal with Hikaru after he got his body back and won Kyoko's heart. This little encounter just proved that Yashiro was right and Ren needed to make a move before someone else did. "Maybe next time." He could see Hikaru's face fall, but the man did not drop away from her side. Ren guest this was a common occurrence from the way the spiky blond jostled their leader and teased him about his height.

When Bo was taken care of and the cart was returned to the prop room, Ren bowed a good bye to the host and picked up Kyoko's bag to leave. He liked the Ishabashis brothers, they looked after 'Kyoko' and made sure 'she' was ok before letting Ren go. They were good friends for her to have, he was just not sure about the oldest and his designs on the woman he love. Ren's mind turned back to the girl and he pulled out Kyoko's phone to call her. He nearly dropped the thing when he flipped it open to find there were over 70 missed call all from the same number. He guessed the number belonged to Fuwa. The phone rang again, but he chose to ignore it and wait for it to go to voice mail before trying to reach Kyoko. He so wanted to answer the call and tell that stupid musician that Kyoko was in better hands now and to go screw off, but he knew that would only cause his love more problems. He was emotionally drained and he still had to go confront Kyoko about her acting as Bo, so getting worked up by Sho was not in his best interest right now. When the call had passed Ren flipped open the silent phone and called the girl he loved. Maybe she had calmed down and they could talk rational about this, but he was not going to hold his breath. This was Kyoko after all.


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry for the delay in the chapter. I was having a problem getting the characters to behave in a way that was right for them. These seems to work better than the last five times I wrote this section. Please let me know. Thank you

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

Kyoko slumped quietly in the passenger's seat as Ren drove her to what she viewed as her doom. They had not spoken since Ren found her hiding in the corner of the studio café with a large cup of hot chocolate. She listened to Ren work the car as she tried to find a way to explain her actions so that Ren would not turn her out of his life.

"You've been Bo since the beginning haven't you?" Ren broke the palpable tension in the car. Kyoko sat up and opened her eyes to look at him.

"Yes." She whispered in response.

"What did you do to make the director so mad at you?" Ren asked a question that he thought would be easy for Kyoko but she froze up as she tried to think of a way to explain it without bringing Sho into the picture.

"I um…" She started "almost ruined the first live show." She really did not want to tell him all of the truth. "He fired me, but the network insisted that I stay due to the high popularity of the character." Ren nodded his head, that would certainly cause some animosity between them. They had just reach Ren's apartment building so Ren shut the car off and Ren took a deep breath to ask the question that was plaguing him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Bo?" Ren looked over to the seat containing his body and the girl inside of it. Kyoko burst into tears as she slammed her head forwards in a bow and banged it on the dashboard.

"I'M SO SORRY!" She cried. Ren was glad that they made it back to the garage before she had made such a scene. Kyoko never moved her head from the dash as she went on in a wail that Ren was sure he could never have produced. "I WAS TERRIFIED THAT YOU WOULD FIND OUT AND TEAR ME UP!" Shock ran across Ren's face. "I WAS SO MEAN TO YOU AS BO!" Kyoko continued to wail on for a good five minutes about how she had been so smug with him and made fun of him when he didn't know common things. Ren placed his hand on her shoulder when her words started to jumble together.

"But you also helped me a lot." Ren reassured her. Kyoko rolled her head over to look at him without lifting it from the dashboard. The tears she had been crying traced lines down the handsome face she was hidden behind.

"Maybe, but I had no right to help you, I'm just a lowly..." Kyoko belittled herself and Ren cut her off with a glower.

"Everyone needs advice and help once in a while." Ren scolded her. "Even me. Don't speak about yourself like that. You have as much right to give out advice as anyone. I told my problems to a giant chicken. A CHICKEN Kyoko! How much right does a chicken have to give out advice?" Ren waited for her to answer.

"But if I had told you I was in the suit, would you have let me help you like Bo did?" Kyoko spoke softly. Ren thought about this for a moment.

"No, I would not have." Ren spoke just as quietly as she did. The pair sat silently for a few minutes, each deep in their own thoughts. They were pulled back to reality when Ren's stomach complained loudly about being neglected. The pair laughed out the tension and got out of the car to go get fixings for dinner.

Kyoko stood at Ren's stove and stirred the vegetables so they would not burn. They had not talked about much since the confrontation in the car, but Ren did not seem ready to toss her out at the moment so Kyoko relaxed a little. Ren watched her working from the kitchen table. He laughed to himself at the image of his own body chopping up food and flipping it in expertly in the skillet. Now if his body could just remember that when he got back into it, he might be able to eat better when she was not there to cook for him. Ren grunted as he registered the ache in his stomach had just past from uncomfortable to hurting. It had slowly gotten worst since they had gotten back. The only thing that he could compare it to was being constipated, but that feeling was a little different. Ren moaned a little as he rocked his hips back and stretched a little to try to alleviate the pain. Kyoko looked up from where she was plating the food and noticed Ren rubbing on his stomach.

"Are you ok?" She asked in a concerned voice. Kyoko knew she could sometimes get really bad cramps. Ren relaxed as he turned to the girl bring over dinner.

"Just a little tired from work." Ren was not about to complain about a little ache. Woman did this all the time, so he could handle a little uncomfortableness. "It's hard being a chicken." Kyoko laughed at his words and the two sat down at the table to enjoy the meal and compare their experiences at playing Bo.

Ren tried to sit still and listen to Kyoko ramble on about the hosts of the show, but pain in his stomach had grown more and he could not remain in the hard chair. Ren stood up and excused himself to the bathroom. Kyoko watched him go with a growing concern, the way he moved was stiffer then he had when they had come in.

Ren sat down on the toilet to try and relieve the pressure in his stomach, but only a little liquid came out. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and doubled over closing his eyes. He was sure there had to be something wrong. Kyoko had said that it would still be a day or so before she started so this should not be happening yet. He had heard about women having cramps but there was no way this was normal. The pain radiated out from his center to climb up his lower back. He stretched forward some trying to get comfortable, but gave up when it did not work. Ren finally decided that the best thing to do was admit that he was in pain and ask Kyoko what he needed to do to make it stop. After all, she would know what to do for her own body.

Ren pulled a fold of toilet paper down to gently pat away any remaining traces of urine and dropped the paper in the bowl before pulled the clothing he borrowed from Kyoko back into place. Ren nearly passed out when he turned to flush the excrement away and found that the water in the bowl was fresh blood red.

"KYOKO!" Ren screeched in shock.

At hearing Ren scream her name, Kyoko tore from the kitchen and bounced into the hallway wall as she cornered too fast. She nearly ripped the door from the hinges as she tried to get into the bathroom to find out what was causing her senpai such terror. Kyoko stopped when she final saw Ren standing over the toilet with his hand pressed into his stomach. Kyoko did not need to see the contents of the toilet to know what her senpai's problem was.

"What do I do?" Ren whispered quietly as his brain refused to process what was going on. Kyoko walked in and patted Ren on the back reassuringly.

"It's ok." She soothed him and pushed the silver handle on the tank to release the water to flush the red water away. "Just wait here for a moment." Kyoko left Ren standing in the bathroom starting at the water as is slowly filled the toilet to the proper level. Kyoko found her bag and rummaged into its bottom to get the item that she kept there of emergencies. Not finding it, Kyoko dumped the bag out onto the table and scattered the junk inside it, but her stash was not there. She checked the empty bag before swiping the loose contents back into it. Of all the time to be unprepared this was the worst. Kyoko went back into the bathroom to find that Ren had sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall with his hand pressed into his stomach and knees up.

"I have to run out to get what you need. Just wait here and be calm. Everything will be ok." Kyoko informed him. Ren nodded from where he sat on the floor. If Kyoko was not worried then everything would be fine, but a slight fear still trickled through Ren. His rational mind told him that this was normal for women and it was just the way the menstrual fluid had mixed with the water, but it had looked as if the entire bowl had been filled with blood. Someone had died the last time he saw that much blood spilt unchecked. Ren shuddered at that thought and curled up to wait for Kyoko's return. He did not know if he was strong enough to face this challenge without her to help.

It seemed like an eternity to Ren, but it was only about ten minutes till Kyoko came back with a bag from the store in his apartment complex. Ren eyes widened as he watched Kyoko pull a box from the bag and open it. She took a think paper wrapped tube from the box and squatted down next to where Ren was siting. Ren closed his eyes in horror. Tampons… Of course she would prefer tampons. Ren opened his eyes back up as he listened to Kyoko rip the paper away to expose the cardboard tube.

"I usually use the ones without applicators, but I thought this would be easier on you." Kyoko blushed as she spoke. Kyoko help the little tube out so she could show it to Ren. "This is the end that goes in." She pointed to the round cottony end. "You insert it to about here." She pointed to a spot lower on the tube. "And you press the end like this." Kyoko pushed the tube so that the tampon slipped free. "This comes out and gets thrown away." Kyoko pulls the applicator tube away so that the tampon was free. "If it is uncomfortable, it's not in far enough. You can either try to push it in a little more, or pull it out and try again." Both Ren and Kyoko were both bright red by the time Kyoko had finished explaining to him how the tampons worked. Kyoko pulled an unwrapped tampon from the box and handed it to him before standing to leave. Ren looked at her with horror still written all over his face.

"What if I hurt you?" Ren asked as he stared up at Kyoko gathering the bag up from the counter. He was pretty sure that Kyoko was still a virgin and worried about damaging that part of her. Kyoko looked down at him and smiled weakly.

"You will not need to push hard to get it in, and if it starts to hurt, just back it out a little." Kyoko explained as she turned to leave. "Call if you need help." Kyoko disappeared out the door.

Ren turned his attention back to the small object in his hand. There was no way he was going to be able to do this. He had dreamed of a time that he would be able to touch Kyoko in such an intimate way, but he had never imagined it would be under such complicated circumstances. Ren pulled the paper from the tampon and looked at the shiny white cardboard and chuckled weakly. It reminded him of a little missile. Ren plucked up his courage and stood up to take care of what needed doing. It was not the object he would have chosen to insert into Kyoko, but unless he wanted to spend the next three days leaking everywhere, he was going to have to buck up and use the tampons.


	20. Chapter 20

I am really mad at myself for not getting this chapter out faster. I had written it one way and when I read through it, it made me really uncomfortable, more so than the last one, so I had to rewrite it. I would rather take my time to get it right then do it fast and it not be good. I hope you like it.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

Kyoko shut the bathroom door and leaned against it to calm herself down. This was turning out to be the most ghastly day of her life. Not only had Ren found out her secret about Bo, now her body ignored what was normal for her and decided to start menstruating a full day earlier then she expected, but what was even worse were the comment from the cashier in the little store in Ren's building. Kyoko had been too worried about leaving Ren alone to even think about what it would look like for her to buy feminine hygiene products in Ren's body. It only occurred to her when she sat the box of tampons and Midol on the counter and the older lady checking her out shook his head.

"That's so sweet of you. Most men aren't willing to buy their girlfriends this kind of thing." The lady said as she scanned the bars on the side of the items. Kyoko had turned bright red muttered something about being a gentleman and escaped from the store as fast as she could without actually running.

Kyoko pulled away from the bathroom door and headed to the kitchen to put on the kettle to boil some water. She was sure that Ren would like a nice hot water bottle to cuddle with, that always helped with her cramps. As she walked, her imagination worked as she thought about Ren in the bathroom with those tampons. He would have to touch her so intimately, feel the soft skin in her most privet part, and slide the tip…. Kyoko shuddered as she pushed the thought away and forced herself to remember that Ren was hurting. As she came back from her thoughts she gasped to find that her problem from yesterday's shower had started to return. It surprised her that Ren's body would respond so quickly to the ecchi ideas that had passed through her mind. She reprimanded herself as she poured water into the pot to boil, how could she even think that way? Ren was suffering, already had a girl he liked, and was having his first experience with tampons. Kyoko mussed over her first experience with tampons. They were difficult at first, but one she got the hang of them, they were much nicer than those thick maxi pads. Kyoko dropped the kettle, splashing water down her front, as a thought hit her, PADS! Kyoko hung her head in shame at her stupidity. She had picked up what she was use to and completely forgot about the other options available. If she had just gotten him pads, then he would not have to deal with the tampons. Kyoko wiped up the water she spilt and went to change into something drier. This was definitely turning out to be a miserable night.

Even after Kyoko had explained how to use the tampons, Ren still had to read the side of the box four times till he figured out how they went in. It took Ren six tries till one of the little white balls of cotton would sit comfortable where it belonged. Ren shuttered at the feeling of the wad nestled deep inside of the body he was using. He was finally glad that it was in place, but he had made a terrible mess getting it in there. There was blood on Kyoko's underwear and pants from the time before he had gone to the bathroom so Ren decided that a quick shower and some clean clothing would be just the thing that he would need to feel better. The pains that Ren had come to realized were cramps had not stopped but the hot water cascading over him seemed to help. Once clean, Ren wrapped himself in a fluffy towel and went in and curled up on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Kyoko asked as she poked her head through the bedroom doorway to check on her senpai. Her eyes fell on Ren curled tightly on the covers of the bed, still damp and wrapped in a towel.

"Like I have a pair of rabid weasels running around in my gut." Ren confessed to the pain that he was feeling. Kyoko smiled, she knew exactly what he was going through.

"I have something here that will help you." Kyoko closed on her balled senpai and sat lightly on the edge of the bed. "Sit up so you can take this." Ren responded to Kyoko soft works and Kyoko placed two small pills in his hand. Ren recognized them as the same Midol that had helped him earlier. Of course, painkillers were just the thing to stop the hyped up mustelids from eating their way out of his stomach. Kyoko retrieved the bag with her clothing in it and pulled out some clean underwear and handed it over to Ren.

"There are t-shirts in that dresser. Could you bring me one?" Ren asked as he slipped into the panties without getting up from the bed. Kyoko pulled out one of the soft shirts and gave it to Ren to slip over his head. She pulled the wet towel away and dropped it to the floor for the moment. Once dressed Ren curled back into the comforting balled position he had found. Taking pity on her poor senpai, Kyoko scooted across the bed so that she could sit behind him and placed her hand on Ren's lower back. Ren moaned lightly as she worked her thumbs into the hollows on his back just above the hip bone. The pressure felt good to Ren and he relaxed under her expert fingers. Having been through this before, Kyoko knew exactly where the pressure points that would help alleviate the pain were.

"How do you stand this every month?" Ren whines into the bed where his face was pressed. Kyoko grinned and chuckled.

"You get used to it." Kyoko explained as her fingers pressed into the soreness of Ren's back. "The cramps only last a little while." Kyoko pulled her hands back as she remembered something. "Just one second." She got up just to come back a few minutes later with a hot water bottle. "Heat helps too." Kyoko made Ren sit up and stuck the red rubber bag against his stomach so he could curl around it again. She resumed her position on the bed behind him and started rubbing his back again. Ren was grateful that he had such a caring and understanding person to take care of him. He also noted where she was rubbing on his body so that he would be able to offer her the same comfort when she was in his position again. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while as Kyoko worked over Ren's lower back. When her fingers grew tired, she stopped the movement and just rested her warm hands over the area she had been rubbing. Ren loved the way she touched him so freely when he was in her body. He would stand a month's worth of cramps if she would continue being this open with him when he returned to his own body. Ren sighed as his mind turned over the long day they had.

"Kyoko," Ren spoke softly into the bed. There was something on his mind that he just could not figure out. "Do you remember when I talked with Bo about love?" Kyoko pulled her hands away from Ren's back and folded them into her lap.

"Yes." Kyoko answered him quietly as she thought about the unnamed high school girl that Ren kept deigning his feelings for. Ren rolled over so he could look at Kyoko as he asked his next question.

"Who do you think she is?" Kyoko froze at Ren's words. Her mind turned over all of the girls that she could think of that Ren might like.

"Someone that you worked with?" She guessed, but she could not pull up the name of any high school girls that Ren was currently working with. Ren smiled and chuckled a little.

"She is most definitely someone I have worked with many times now." Ren grinned knowingly up at Kyoko as she tried to think of who it could be. "I see her on a regular bases." Kyoko still could not think of any one. She saw Ren quite often, but she could not remember a high school girl. Ren let out a sigh and gave her another hint. "Sometimes she will even come over and cook me dinner." Kyoko's heart lurched as a pain shot through her, she thought she was the only one that cooked for Ren. Somehow it hurt to know that someone else had been taking care of him too. Who was this mystery girl that Ren liked but she had never met.

"I thought I was the only one that cooked for you." Kyoko whispered. Ren shook his head and smiled warmly up from where he was still curled up.

"You are the only one that cooks for me." Ren chuckled. Kyoko looked at in in confusion. But he just said the girl he liked would come and cook for him. How can that be if she was the only one that fixes him meals? Kyoko turned this this over in her head for a few minutes trying to figure out what he meant by this cryptic message. If she was the only one that cooked, how could the girl he likes do it? Ren chuckled again as Kyoko's thoughts ran round and round.

"The high school girl I like is you." Ren finally confessed when he could see that she was not going to come up with the answer herself. "I love you Kyoko. I have for a long time." Kyoko stared down at him as she struggled to wrap her mind around this confession. Kyoko's grudges ran in circles screaming possible reason for her respected senpai's words. 'Was it the cramps and hormones that were making him insane?' 'Did he know what he was saying?' 'He's being mean!' Kyoko's angles had stolen the pitchforks from the grudges and were using them to pry open Kyoko's box. A few of the more focused grudges had thrown themselves on the lid to try and stop it, but they were quickly losing the battle.

"How could you say something like that?" The tears slipped from the corner of her eyes as she took his words as some kind of horrible tease. She could not see how someone as respected as the Tsuruga Ren could possibly love someone like her. Seeing that Kyoko had taken his confession as something it was not, Ren sat up and reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Kyoko, I've loved you since I was ten." This confession stopped Kyoko's tears in their tracks. How is it possible that he loved her since he was little? She met him when she was 16. Ren could see the confusion in her face and he took the opportunity to explain. "I met you in Kyoto when my family came on vacation." Kyoko tried to figure out what he was talking about. She could never remember meeting him in Kyoko. If he was ten, then she would have been six… Kyoko covered her mouth as it dawned on her. She had met a blond boy with blue eyes when she was six.

"Corn?" Kyoko breathed the name from behind the hand still covering her mouth. Ren could hear the raw emotions in her voice as he nodded his head. Tears streamed from Kyoko's eyes as she stared at him in shock and surprise.

"When I first met you in LME I did not recognize you. You had changed so much from the little girl crying by the creek. It was the stone, your 'Corn' stone that told me who you were." Ren held on to Kyoko's shoulder as she shook her head trying to deign his claims. "It was only later when you started to get over your need for revenge before I truly started to see the heart of the little girl that has made such an impression on me during the short time I visited Kyoto." Ren shifted closer to Kyoko. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I could not without revealing more about my past then I was ready to." Ren pulled his hand from her shoulder and folded it into his lap as he dropped his eyes to look at the sheet. "I am so sorry Kyoko." Ren sat waiting for a response from the girl he loved. It was an amazing amount of information for her to process and he hoped that she would not turn him away.

"Corn." Kyoko spoke as his words sunk in more. Could it be, the man that she was falling for was the fairy prince from her childhood? Kyoko could feel the hinge on her box strain as her feelings leaked out from around the cracks.

"Yes Kyoko. Only it's not Corn, it's Kuon, and I am not a fairy prince." Ren looked up to meet her eyes. His tears had started to flow as he prayed that she could accept him. Kyoko's mouth hung open as she listened to him. How could Ren have the same name as her sudo-father's son? The image of Ren with golden hair and blue eyes came back to her and she could not deign that Ren was Kuu's son, the resemblance was too striking.

"Hizuri Kuon?" Kyoko breathed Ren's true name and a pained look crossed Ren's face as he closed his eyes and nodded. Ren was shocked when Kyoko's arms came down over him and pulled in into a crushing hug as Kyoko wailed about him being dead. Kyoko pulled him into her lap and her words jumbled together so Ren could not make out what she was saying over the sobs. He got the idea that she had thought he was dead and was happy that he was alive. When she had cried herself out, Kyoko pulled back from the squishing hug she had Ren in and looked down at the body in her lap. It was her body, but it contained the man that she loved. In her outburst, the last lock had shattered beyond repair and all of her feeling came flowing out.

"I l-l-love you too." Kyoko blushed as she admitted her feeling to Ren. Ren's eyes went wide as his deepest wish came true. He did not care if she was in his body at the moment, all of his hopes and dreams filled him and he surged forwards to claim the lips of the one that he loved. Kyoko's eyes widened in shock as she felt the soft lips of her body press into the lips of the mouth she was using. She could feel the emotions in the kiss, the need, the desire, and the relief. She returned the kiss and Ren twisted his fingers into the front of her shirt and deepened the kiss. The unexpected increase in weight upset her balance and the pair toppled over backwards onto the bed so that Ren pressed her into the mattresses. Kyoko wrapped her arms around him and received the love that he poured into her. Ren darted his tongue out to touch her mouth begging entrance and she parted her lips to let him in. Unlike the kiss that she had shared with Sho, this set her on fire clear to her toes. It was as if they had become one. Their tongues mingle together until they could no longer breath and Kyoko pulled back to look down at the brown eyes of the man that she finally admitted that she loved.

"Kyoko." Ren panted as he stared up at the golden eyes of the woman in his arms and it hit him. He was looking at Kyoko's face! He was back in his own body! "KYOKO!" He squeezed the girl he loved in his arms and rolled over so that she was pin underneath him. He claimed her mouth again for another passionate kiss. Kyoko gave in to him and kissed him back deeply. When he pulled back from her to breathe again he smiled at her and ran his fingers up into the hair at the side of her face. "I love you." Ren could see the hint of fear in her eyes, but there was also something else there. An emotion that he had only caught in her eyes fleetingly as she spoke about things precious to her.

"I l-love you too." Kyoko whispered and Ren beamed at her with that loving gaze that he had so carefully hidden from her until that moment. Ren shifted his weight off of the girl and pulled her up so they were lying properly in the bed. Now that they had both admitted their feelings he was not going to let her go. He was still afraid that she would run away from him and he was going to hold her for as long as he could.

Kyoko's mind reeled as her senpai held on to her. He pulled her up so she was cradled against his chest. It was not so much passionate as it was comforting, as if he feared that she would disappear if he turned her lose. Ren rolled over taking her with him as he reached to turn out the light before settling back to rest comfortable in the bed. Ren held her close, but Kyoko just knew that he would not prevent her from leaving if she really wanted to get away from him. But she didn't want to move, she wanted to be held against his firm chest, trapped in his strong arms for as long as he would let her be there. Kyoko closed her eyes and snuggled deep into the warmth that was Ren. The pain from the cramps had subsided before she had regained her body, but she was tired from the long day so she let sleep overwhelm her. She would worry about the consequences of sleeping wrapped in the senpai's arms tomorrow.

Ren felt Kyoko relax in his arms and smiled down into the top of her head. He was so happy that she was finally comfortable in his arms. Ren relaxed and breathed in his love's scent. He would be happy if he never moved again, as long as she was warm in his arms. Who knew that switching bodies was the best way for them to come together?


	21. Chapter 21

Look. I have more! I hope you enjoy it.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

A familiar ache woke Kyoko from the wonderful dream filled with blue eyes and the warm arms of her beloved Ren. She shifted in the warmth wrapped around her and found that she was being held down. Her eyes popped open to see that she was still pressed into the firm chest of her sleeping senpai. Her mind spun through the sleep as she tried to figure out how she got there. A light moan issued from Ren and he tightened his hold on her when she shifted again. Kyoko blushed madly when she felt Ren's hands shift against the bare skin of her back, sometime in the night his hands had slipped up under the t-shirt she was wearing. She pushed against his chest and looked up into the handsome face of the man that had worked his way into her heart. Her blush deepened as she felt her legs pull against the soft silk of the pajama pants she had changed his body into last night. Her bare thigh was trapped high between his legs and she could feel it press into the firmness of his groin. Kyoko froze when another groan slipped from the man, his state of arousal was very evident from where it pressed into her leg and stomach. Kyoko slammed her eyes shut and leaned it forwards onto Ren's chest as she tried to deal with her dilemma.

Kyoko's angels and grudges got together to hold counsel as Kyoko's mind glitched.

"We have to get away!" The first grudge cried. "He will eat us alive when he wakes up!"

"No he will not." One of the angels bonked the first grudge on the head. "He said he loved us last night." All of the grudges shivered at the angel's words.

"But that was when he dealing with hormones and in pain. He did not know what he was saying!" Another grudge tried to reason with the angels.

"He said he had loved us since he was ten." Another angel pointed out and the grudges all convulsed.

"He will hurt us again, just like that other one." Another grudge stood up and stomped its foot.

"DON'T COMPAIRE HIM TO THAT BAKA!" All of Kyoko's angels screamed at the last grudge and she fell to the floor to hide under the table.

"Ren may be mean at times and tease us, but he is kind and has always been there for us." Another angel reasoned. "And you guys like him too." The grudges grumbled but had to agree with the angel, they really did love the delicious darkness that would radiate off him from time to time.

Kyoko's mind was pulled away from the grudge-angel counsel when she felt Ren's hand shift from her back to pet her hair. She leaned back to look into the Ren's warm eyes. Ren smiled down at her.

"Good morning beautiful." Ren whispered to her and pulled her up so he could place a light kiss on her lips. The movement pressed her closer to him and she blushed harder at the contact. "I love you." Ren restated his feelings when he pulled away from the gentle kiss. Kyoko whimpered slightly, not only had her cramps returned, she was having issues being pressed into Ren's aroused body. Concern filled Ren as he looked into Kyoko's eyes. He could see a swirl of conflicting emotions running around in her. Terrified that she was going to run from him this morning, Ren loosened his grip on her so she would be more at ease. He did not know what he would do if she left him. "Are you all right?" Ren asked softly. Kyoko could see and hear his anxiety.

"Cramps." She answered hoping that would cover the sound that she had not intended to let out. Things had been moving much too fast for her to handle properly. Understanding bloomed across Ren's face and he pulled back from her so she could get up to go to the bathroom. Kyoko pulled the shirt she was wearing down as far as it could go as she skittered from the room to take care of her physical needs. She hoped that she would be able to sort out some of her feelings while she was away from him.

Ren sat up in the bed and ruffled his hair harshly in frustration. Was it only cramps? Had he gone too far? Would her love resistant mind be able to accept his feeling in the morning light? A million little questions swirled in his head as he pulled himself from the bed. It was only when he went to stand up that Ren noticed the firmness pressing again the inside of his pants. Ren rubbed his face with his hand as he realized the rest of Kyoko's problem. She had been pressed so firmly against his front there was no way she would not have noticed the change in his body. Ren stood up and fluffed his shirt out over the front of his pants to hide the bulge. It should go away shortly; he just had to find something to occupy his mind, other than the sight of Kyoko bare legs showing under his t-shirt. Ren shook his thoughts away and got up to go make coffee.

Kyoko came back from the bathroom to find that Ren had vacated the bedroom. She was still torn about the new feeling that she was finding in her. Yes she did care for her senpai greatly, but was she ready to love someone again? Kyoko found a pair of pants in her bag and pulled them on under Ren's shirt. Did her really love her? Kyoko wrapped her arms around herself as doubts swirled around her. She had almost convinced herself that it was all a lie until she stepped into the kitchen. Ren stood at the stove cracking eggs into a pan. She smiled at him grumbling as he attempted to fish the broken bits of shell out before it cooked into place. Kyoko walked silently over to wrapped her arms around him from behind, just seeing him there fumbling with the eggs had washed away all her doubts. Ren gasped as she pressed her cheek into his back. Touching him felt so right.

"I love you too." Kyoko sighed as she let her feeling pour out. Ren spun in her arms and scooped her up to place a kiss on the lips that had uttered the words that he so longed to hear. Kyoko giggled at the passionate outpouring from Ren and returned his kiss. When they pulled apart Ren looked up into the face of the girl he held above him. Kyoko giggled again at the joyful expression on his face. She leaned into him to place another light kiss on his lips and pulled back before he could deepen it. "You need to put me down before those burn." Kyoko smiled at the man holding her up. Ren's attention was pulled from the girl he loved to the unseasoned eggs solidifying in the pan. Ren blushed and carefully sat Kyoko down. She stepped up and quickly added salt to the eggs before flipping them over.

"But I was cooking." Ren whined playfully behind Kyoko. She giggled at him again.

"I remember the last time you cooked for me." Kyoko shuttered as she thought about that monstrous dish. Ren chuckled lightly behind her. He knew how awful that had turned out. Ren wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Kyoko only tensed lightly at the contact before relaxing back into him as she finished out the rest of the fried eyes. Ren looked up when he felt a light weight settle onto the top of his head. The soft tinkling laugh and gentle pull of his hair let him know that their fairy friend had alighted on his head.

"Good morning to you." Ren greeted the unseen guest. Kyoko looked up at him and beamed at the cute girl nestled into Ren's hair.

"Good morning." Kyoko added her greeting. A soft tinkle reached their ears as the fairy cocked her head in question. Unable to hear what the winged girl said, Kyoko ventured a guess it was how they were doing.

"We got out bodies back last night." Kyoko informed the fairy. She clapped her hands in joy and gripped onto Ren's hair as he moved back so Kyoko could take the plates into the table for breakfast. She added some toast to the eggs while Ren got the coffee and juice. The small girl giggled as she perched in Ren's hair. Ren was too happy to care that the little creature had taken a liking to being on his head. He finally had his Kyoko and nothing else mattered this morning.

Ren and Kyoko settled down to enjoy their breakfast together, broken egg shells and all. Kyoko broke up a bit of toast with some strawberry jam and placed it on a napkin so the fairy could descend from Ren's head to sit at the table and eat with the pair.

"Lory has cleared our schedules so we still have the day free." Ren informed his kohai. "What would you like to do?" Kyoko looked up from her plate. She knew that she should get back to work, but she did not feel good and she didn't want to leave Ren's company just yet. She was still exploring the depths of her feelings for the man. Kyoko looked at the little fairy licking the jam off her fingers.

"What would you like to do?" Kyoko asked the winged girl. The fairy looked up at the auburn haired girl and wiggled her wings as she thought. She sat her bread down and stood so that she could take a deep breath and screamed. One single tinkling word made its way into both Ren and Kyoko's ears: home. Both of the actors looked at the little creature in surprise.

"You want to go home?" Ren asked softly to the girl. The fairy twisted her skirt in her hands and blushed as she nodded. Kyoko's heart fell, not because the creature wanted to leave, but because she had kept the girl away from where she belonged. The fairy could see the distress cross Kyoko's face and proceeded to issue a long stream of tinkling words as she tried to relay her feeling to Kyoko, but the words were too soft to make out. Ren watched the pair, Kyoko shook her head and the fairy flapped her wings and continued to rattle on. Ren chuckled at the pair and both of their heads turned towards him.

"You enjoyed her time here but your wing is better so you want to go back home?" Ren asked and the fairy nodded enthusiastically and pointed to Ren as she looked back at Kyoko. It seemed that the actor had hit it right on the nose. Kyoko smiled as she finally understood.

"Alright, we'll take you back home." The fairy flew up and hugged Kyoko's head and kissed her on the cheek before returning to her half-finished breakfast.

It did not take long for Ren and Kyoko to clean up and get ready to take the fairy back to the park where Kyoko had found her. Kyoko held the little girl in her hands so that Ren could drive, he found that it was very distracting having something on top of his head as he tried to work the car. It seemed that the fairy loved the high vantage point and it had taken Kyoko's coaxing to get her to come down. When they arrived at the park, Kyoko placed the fairy on her should and Ren took ahold of Kyoko's hand. Kyoko blushed madly but did not pull away from him, his hand felt so good wrapped around hers. They walked together through the dapple sunlight until they came to an unmarked spot in the path.

"This is where I found her." Kyoko said as she pulled away from Ren and went to the edge of the path. The fairy's wings fluttered lifting her from Kyoko's shoulder. The small creature called out in a tinkling voice to the wood before turning back around to face her new friends. Kyoko raised her hands to catch the fairy as she came back to say goodbye. Ren stepped up behind Kyoko and placed his hand on her shoulder to give support. Parting with the fairy was sure to make the young girl sad.

Before Ren and Kyoko knew what was happening a dozen or more miniature winged people zoomed around their head. One little boy landed on Kyoko's outstretched hand next to the little girl already there. The little girl fairy blushed as the boy fairy pulled her into a crushing hug and kissed her. The girl pushed away from him embarrassed at his show of affection and pointed to Kyoko and Ren. The sounds of tinkling voices could be heard as the little girl explained what happened to the group. Ren held still as he felt the delicate pressure of several of the bolder fay alight on his head and shoulders as the little girl rambled on. By the time the girl was finished, both Ren and Kyoko were covered in tiny winged bodies. It was an unnerving experience for Ren, but Kyoko loved it. The little winged boy asked a few questions before turning his attention to the two humans that had taken care of the injured girl. He bowed deeply in thanks and too to flight so that he could take the girl he loved back home. The little girl lifted off to give both Ren and Kyoko kisses on the cheeks before zooming after the boy. A few of the other fairies gave Ren and Kyoko hugs and kisses. Kyoko dropped her hands and stood to watch them disappear back into the trees back from hence they came. Ren leaned forwards to speak softly to Kyoko.

"Don't worry. I am sure she will come out to see you the next time you come through here." Ren reassured Kyoko. Kyoko nodded her agreement and wiped the tear that had leaked from her eye away.

"I will miss her." Kyoko turned around and press into Ren for a comforting hug. Ren gladly wrapped his arms around her and held her till she felt better. When Kyoko moved to pull back, Ren bent over and placed a light kiss on her lips.

"I will too." Ren answered to the blushing girl he loved. He had a lot to thank that fairy for. The two actors started back to Ren's car hand in hand. As they walked, Kyoko thought over the events from the last few days and blushed.

"These last three days have been so embarrassing." Kyoko admitted and Ren agreed.

"Yes, but they gave me you." Ren pulled Kyoko's hand up so he could run it between his fingers lovingly. Kyoko blushed even darker then she had before.

"True." Kyoko tried to his behind her bangs. "But it had also caused some real problems." Kyoko pointed out. Ren nodded his agreement. There were those pictures of him in the pink jumpsuit, the 200 missed calls from Sho, and the odd rumors that their behavior was sure to have caused. "I kind of wish that it had not happened." Kyoko sighed. Ren tensed when he hear a tinkling laugh come from behind him. It was like that of the fairy's only deeper. Ren whipped around to find the little male fairy perched on a tree limb. The boy grinned and blew a hand full of dust at the pair and Ren felt his consciousness slip away from him as he fell.

"Ren, it's about time to go." Yashiro called into the apartment as he let himself in. He turned the corner into the kitchen without even noticing the two actors asleep on the living room floor. Yashiro was surprised to find that Ren had not even started the coffee that was his usually breakfast. The manger filled the pot and pushed the brew button and went to find out why his charge was not up. "Ren, if we don't get moving, you're going to be late." There was still plenty of time even if Ren was still in bed, but this threat usually got a response from the perpetually punctual man. Yashiro footsteps started him toward Ren's bedroom, but he stopped when he saw the two actors together on the floor. He quickly turned his head back to where he had left his shoes and wondered how he could have missed the young actress' tennis shoes in the entry way. He let out a light squee that he quickly ended so as not to wake the cute couple cuddled on the floor. He took out his gloves and slipped them on so he could get out his phone and take a picture of Kyoko holding Ren to her chest. He got closer and took several more pictures from different angles. His movement disturbed Ren's sleep and the actor sat up and looked at the giddy man oddly.

"What are you doing Yashiro?" Ren asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Ren looked down at the girl curled on the floor next to him and everything came flooding back to him vividly. Yashiro jumped back when Ren bolted from the floor to the bathroom to check to make sure he was in his own body. The refection that stared back at him was definitely his own, but he had to feel himself to make sure all of his bits were in the correct places. He stared at his own brown eyes and debated with himself for a few minutes. Was is a dream? It was too real to be a dream, but that could never happen in real life. Fairies were children's stories and they did not go around switching bodies. Yes, it had to be a dream; an awkward, strange, yet wonderful dream. Ren washed his face to help clear his mind and went back out to the living room where Yashiro was still standing with his mouth open.

"Is everything alright?" The bespectacled man asked, he had never seen Ren move that fast without a reason.

"Yes, I…" Ren did not know how to explain to the man that he was checking to make sure he was in his own body without sounding mad. "It was just a dream." Yashiro raised an eyebrow at the actor in curiosity.

"Mogami-san." Ren patted Kyoko on the shoulder to wake her. "It's time to get up." Kyoko shifted out of her sleep.

"Ren?" She responded before she was awake. Ren froze at the sound of his given name on her lips. Kyoko sat up and rubbed her eyes trying to understand what was going on. Kyoko blushed hard as she looked up into her senpai's eyes.

"We fell asleep on the floor, Yashiro is here to get me for work." Ren explained. Kyoko looked over at the man watching from where he stood next to the wall. The red on her cheeks increased as her ears and neck turned colors too. It was a dream, she cried in her head.

"Yes." Was the only thing Kyoko could think to say as she stood to go use the bathroom. She needed to get away from Ren for a moment. She could not explain the feelings that she had when she woke up. The dream she had been having was just a swirl of blue eyes, fairy wings, and Ren. She could feel that something had shifted in her paradigm, but she was not sure what. Kyoko returned to the living room to find that Ren had gone to get himself ready for the day.

"Did you have a good night?" Yashiro asked with a smile on his face. Kyoko shook her head trying to remember how they got on the floor. She wanted to tell Ren something last night, but she could not remember what it was. She kept getting weird impressions from the dream that she had been having.

"I don't remember." Kyoko admitted to Yashiro. It was like someone had taken her night and shaken it violently so everything was jumble up. "I had a weird dream, so vivid, like it was real. But I'm having problems pulling it away from my real memories." Yashiro looked at her with concern.

"Maybe your blood sugar is low." Yashiro fished for a plausible reason. "Let's get some breakfast and see if that helps." Kyoko nodded and the two friends went to scrounge something editable from Ren's kitchen.

Kyoko fixed a decent breakfast from the meager supplies in the cabinets and sat a portion out for Ren. She found herself giving him less then she normally would have, but somehow knew it would be enough for him. She sat behind her meal and processed her thoughts as she ate in silence. Yashiro watched her careful as he enjoyed her cooking, she was not acting herself this morning. Kyoko looked up when Ren walked into the room and her breath hitched. She now knew what had shifted in her world: her feelings for Ren. Before she cared for, respected, and even feared the great man, but now she felt the warmth of love flowing through her at just the sight of him. Kyoko blushed as she turned her face away from the man pouring himself a cup of coffee. She tried to deny these feelings, but she found that her locks were shattered and the top of the box had been torn off. There was no way that she could stuff what she felt back inside the broken container. Ren sat at the table and looked at the meal that Kyoko had placed out for him.

"Thank you." Ren smiled warmly at her before giving a quick 'itadakimasu' and starting in on his food. Kyoko squashed her feelings down as much as she could, but there was no way for her to lock them away again. Kyoko finished her food and cleared her dished away to the sink to be cleaned. The rest of the morning was filled with deep blushes from Kyoko, long sighs from Ren, and curious glances from Yashiro. It all ended with Ren dropping Kyoko off at the Darumaya.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening." Ren smiled warmly at Kyoko. The already present blush deepened on her cheeks.

"You're welcome." She thanked him. Kyoko had this strange urge to bend over and kiss him, but she fought it back and backed up a step from his car. "Have a nice day Ren." She called before turning and bolting for the restaurant. Ren's eyes widened at her reaction and words. Yashiro grinned at the use of his charges given name.

"So what happened last night?" Yashiro was dying to know what had made the strong willed girl so meek and using the actor's first name.

"It was only a dream." Ren grinned as he put the car into drive and took them both to work. But it was a wonderful dream that he was sure would change his world.

**Author's note**: I know I am a horrible person. Giving Ren what he wants and take it away from him. At least I left some progress in their relationship. Don't give up just yet... there is one more chapter.


	22. Chapter 22

after careful consideration of the first few reviews I have decided to rewrite this chapter. please bare with me as I get it correct. thank you sweetvanillamintyyy you are correct. this was rushed and needs improvement..

thank you for your patience... I will have it reposted very soon.


	23. Chapter 23

Alright… I concede the fact that the original end was rushed and did not do the story justice. I have rewritten it and I hope that it meets with your approval. Thank you for keeping me in my place and helping me to improve in my writing.

**Note: I do not own Skip Beat!.**

Ren looked over to the quiet girl in his passenger's seat. It had been over a week since they had woken up on his living room floor and she was still acting strange. She was no longer the carefree excitable girl that he had grown to love, well at least not around him. When she did not know he was there, she was still the same fun bubbly yet driven teenager that she had been, but the moment she saw him a blush would rush up her cheeks and she would plaster that fake smile on. It tore his heart up to know that his presence had made her so uncomfortable. Every time he saw her, his mind would go back to that strange morning in his living room. It was just a dream right? Did she have a strange dream too? Ren let out a sigh and pointed his car to his apartment. Yashiro had convinced Kyoko to fix Ren dinner based on the fact that he had not been eating well in the last few days. He had, in fact, been too concerned about the change in his beloved to think about food.

Kyoko looked up from her hands when she heard Ren's sigh. A light blush wandered up her check from just looking at his profile. Her mind had been filled with him recently. That dream had been too vividly real for her to forget the feel of his body under her hands, but the part that really boggled her mind was the fact that she had been inside his body. She shuddered slightly as she remembered the feel of his soft curly blond hair under her hands. It could not have been real; Ren did not have blond hair and blue eyes. Kyoko swallowed as she considered her predicament. Yashiro had called her begging for her to take care of Ren, he had been skipping out on whole meals in the last week. Even though she was uncomfortable near him, she agreed to the task, his health was more important than her unsettled mind. It was not the fact that she disliked him, it was the other way around. Her heat would beat wildly every time he looked at her and her emotions would run out of control. Kyoko tried to scold her heart back to where it belonged, but it would not listen to her. No matter how many times she told it that Ren already had a girl he like, his words from that stupid dream would come back and leave just a trace of doubt in her mind. Ren would love someone special, and she was not special. She couldn't be the high school girl he liked, could she?

Kyoko glanced back over to the serious man driving the car. The smile that he wore at work had grown more fake over the last few days and she had caught him watching her. She could see the concern in his eyes, but she did not know what was bothering him. She had thought about kidnapping the Bo costume again so that she could ask him. Maybe he would talk to the large chicken that had become his friend. That way she could discover what was on his mind. Finding that she did truly love this man had made it hard to face him. She was sure that he would never return her love and when he did finally get around to confessing to his high school girl, she would end up in the same situation she had been in with Sho. Cast aside with a broken heart. She had been running from him since these feeling had surfaced, she could not think straight in his presence. Kyoko was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of the car engine dying.

"Thank you for coming over to cook for me." Ren said quietly as he toyed with his car keys. Kyoko looked up from her seat when he spoke. The red crept back into her cheeks when their eyes met and she looked away fast.

"You're welcome." She muttered as she reached for the door handle to get out. Her response irritated the pain in Ren's heart. Normally she would go into some kind of rant about him not eating properly, but there was no fight in her tonight. Ren ruffled his hair in frustration and got out of the car slamming the door. Kyoko jumped a little at the loud sound. Her grudges had started to swarm out towards the darkness growing around her senpai. 'HE'S MAD!' was the only thought that jumped into Kyoko's mind. She spun her memories around trying to figure out why he was mad.

They did not talk as Kyoko picked out the ingredients for dinner, but Kyoko could feel Ren's eyes burning on her the entire time the shopped. She had silently let him take the basket away from her as she compared vegetables and another grudge popped out to add to the ones already swimming in the dark lord's aura. Why had this mad him so mad? Kyoko almost cowered away from him as they entered the elevator to his apartment. She was actually looking forward to getting into his kitchen with the food so she could send him out to relax as she cooked. When Ren opened his apartment door, she practically bolted down the hall way with her bags.

Ren watched as Kyoko dropped her shoes at the door and disappeared as fast as she could into the kitchen. Pain stabbed at his heart and his anger level went up another notch. This has got to stop. As he stalked down the hall and into the kitchen, Ren's personality pulled back and Kuon took over. He had enough of Ren pussy footing around the girl. He was tired of this game these two were playing. In that realistic dream he had held Kyoko, kissed her, and he was not going to let the sissy boy ruin the chance that he could have her again. He was going to get answers from her, one way or another. Kuon set the bags down on the table with a thump that was louder than the goods inside could have made on normal bases.

Kyoko stood petrified by the loud band on the table that had announced Ren had come into the room behind her. She knew he had to deliver the shopping bags, but she hoped that he would drop them off and leave. She slowly turned to look at the man behind her. His ankles were crossed and he leaned his hip against the table with his arms crossed over his chest, the anger was prevalent on his face. Kyoko whipped back around to face away from the man that was no longer her gentle senpai. The presence of the man that stood in his place spoke of danger and violence, nothing she had ever expected of Ren. The confession that Ren had given about his past came swimming up from the memories of that strange dream. Just feeling the presence of the man behind her made Kyoko question her memories. It was a dream, right?

Seeing Kyoko's fear was enough for Ren to pull control back from Kuon. He did not want to scare the girl and make her run from him. They just needed to talk about what had happened. Kuon's withdraw had given him a micron more control and he pushed the anger and hurt away as he relaxed into a softer stance.

"Look at me Kyoko." Ren spoke softly to the girl across the room. Kyoko froze at the use of her given name, but turned around to face him and stared at his chest. She could see that he was back to normal, somewhat. She tensed as he pushed away from the table and closed on her, but she did not feel hunted as he approached. It was more like a friend trying to comfort you when you're hurt. "What's wrong?" Ren asked in a soft voice as he stopped and leaned against the counter next to her. Kyoko's mind clicked on what answer to give him. She couldn't very well tell him that she was having feelings for him. It would only hurt her in the long run.

"Nothing's wrong." Kyoko smiled her best professional smile, and turned to pull the rest of the groceries out of the bag. Ren grabbed her wrist before she could pick anything up. Her eyes shot up to his face and found that the gentleness was gone and he looked at her with a cold glint in his eyes. Her face slipped and she wanted to run from the predator that had approached her in sheep's clothing, but he had a hold on her wrist. The only way she would get away was if she fought him off, but her heart really did not want to relinquish his touch.

"Don't lie to me Kyoko. I can tell there is something wrong." Kuon breathed from behind Ren's mask. Kyoko took a step back from him. She was unsure if she really knew this man. Ren saw the fear in her and yanked Kuon back so he could deal with this issue. Kyoko saw his eyes soften a little, but he never released her wrist. "You have been acting strangely towards me since we woke up on the floor in the living room." Kyoko could see the anguish bloom in Ren's eyes. "Please tell me what is wrong." Kyoko could not stand the pained look in the eyes of the man she loved, especially not knowing that she was the cause of that hurt.

Ren gasped as Kyoko dropped on to the floor and beg his forgiveness. The firm grip he had on her wrist caused him to follow her to the floor where she wailed about treating him so coldly. He listened to her go on about her audacity to harbor feeling for him. Her words rambled on for a moment before he was able to make out the fact that she loved him and did not think herself worth of him. Ren yanked her up from the floor and into his arms. He did not give her time to respond before he crashed his lips against her in a passionate kiss that did more than just quiet her words.

Kyoko's mind went blank when Ren pulled her to him. The feel of his lips on her was strangely familiar. Her heart wanted this badly and she found herself melting into the kiss. She somehow knew what to do and Ren groaned against her lips as she responded. She felt the gentle touch of his tongue and opened her mouth to let him explore her depths. Kyoko mewed lightly as the world around them evaporated leaving just the two of them tangled together in a passionate kiss. When they pulled apart to gain the air they were both starved for, Ren looked into the flushed face of the girl causing his heart problems. He cupped his hand to the side of her head and brought it to rest against his chest.

"Kyoko, you are a wonderful, strong, passionate girl and if you search your heart you will find that you are worthy of being loved." Ren released her and sat back with his legs tucked under so he could talk to her. He took both of her hand into his as she settled back as her mind whirled over what he said. He rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles as he looked at her hands. Ren pause as he drew up his courage. "I don't know what weird impression you got from my confessions to the damn chicken, but I love you Kyoko. I have for a long time." Kyoko gasped as Ren revealed that he knew she was Bo. Ren pushed on before she could ask how he knew. "I have already told you that I don't deserve to love someone, but I can't help myself when it comes to you." Ren looked up into Kyoko's golden eyes so that he could bare the rest of his soul to her. The feeling that he had done this once before made this confession easier. "Kyoko, I'm not a good person. I…." Kyoko pressed her lips to Ren's to stop the rest of his words. She did not know if the words he had spoken to her in her dream were going to be the same explanation that he was going to give her now, but she did not care. She loved him and she could wait for his secrets to come out when he was more comfortable in sharing them.

"I love you too." Kyoko whispered when she pulled away from the kiss. Ren pulled her to him so he could hold her. He loved the way those little words slipped from her tongue and dance across the nerves of his skin. Ren rolled her into his arms and shifted so he was leaning against the cabinets with her cuddled in his lap. This was more substance the all of the food that was sitting forgotten on the counter tops around them.

* * *

"This came for you today Ren." Yashiro held out an oversized manila envelope. Ren took it and looked at the name scrawled on the outside. He recognized the hand writing of the photographer Makoto Hideaki. Ren pulled open the flap and up ended the paper sleeve so that a thick stack of pictures slid out into his hand. Ren expected that these were the test pictures from the modeling shoot with Marianna Adual. It had been two weeks since he had last seen Hideaki during the photo shoot. Ren shuddered as he remembered how grabby the French model had been during the job. Yashiro had to intervene when the woman tried to charm her way into making Ren take her out for dinner.

There was a sheet of paper covering the first picture, and Ren pulled it away without reading the letter. He nearly dropped the stack of photographs when he saw the visage of the girl he loved smiling up at him. It had only been a few days since Ren had cornered his kohai for their heart to heart conversation. It had been a life changing moment for both of them and they were now secretly dating. Yashiro had nearly died of joy when he weaseled it out of Ren the next day, but he was bound to keep their secret for as long as the pair wanted the joy of privacy in their relationship. It was Lory that was the problem. He was already planning their engagement press conference and Kyoko's graduation from the LoveMe section. He had even started looking into churches where his favorite couple would spend their happy day.

Ren dropped the letter back over the pictureand read the words that the photographer had written.

Ren,

I found these rolls of film in my dark room. I do not remember taking these pictures and I have no idea who this girl is, but since you are in the pictures too, I thought you should have them. She is a very beautiful girl and I would love to get her in front of my camera. Is she a model, or maybe a friend of yours? Let me know. Thanks.

Makoto Hideaki

Ren flipped through the rest of the pictures. Most of them were Kyoko in the standard modeling poses, but the ones at the end were of both Ren and Kyoko in increasingly more intimate positions. The last picture of him kissing her neck made his pulse quicken. He remembered taking this picture, but he was the one in her body. How can that be! Wasn't it all a dream? Ren quickly slipped the pictures back into the envelope before Yashiro could finish with the phone call he was on and ask to see them. Several more memories surfaced from his mind about the 'dream'; the trouble Kyoko had in the shower, him confessing who he was, the incident with Sho, him dressed in the blaring pink jumpsuit, and the fact that he could still fell the way the tampon had slid in. They were all too real to have been his imagination and these pictures were proof that what had happened was real. If this slipped past, what else was out there that had somehow escaped the second fairy's magic? Ren tucked the envelope up under his arm with a shudder and vowed that no one would ever see these photos except for him. It would be a shame if Kyoko could not use them for her portfolio, but the embarrassing memories that they brought up would only server to traumatize the innocent young girl. That was the last thing he wanted in a new relationship that was going so well. It would be best if she continued on believing that the strange things that had happened had all been a dream. At least for now.

**Author's note:** See I am not completely evil. Ren still gets his Kyoko, and cute pictures :)


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